One of the first ideas to come out of Nike’s new AirWorks program has surfaced through Motoi Hatsuki, the Tokyo creative behind Blue Room vintage store. His concept, developed with Zellerfeld, offers an early look at how 3D printing could be used to push Air Max design in a different direction.

The shoe is made as a single 3D-printed piece, with the upper and sole flowing together instead of relying on the usual layered construction. Its shape brings the Air Max Tailwind V to mind, especially through the sculpted openings under the forefoot and heel. Those visible Air sections give the pair a recognizable Nike connection, even with the rest of the design moving well outside the brand’s usual production methods.

Hatsuki was one of eight creatives invited to take part in the first AirWorks program. Nike brought participants from Beijing, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo to its Beaverton headquarters, where each person worked alongside designers and engineers on an original footwear concept.

The group also spent time inside several parts of Nike’s design network, including the Air Manufacturing Innovation facility, the Department of Nike Archives, and Blue Ribbon Studio. Each project was shaped by the participant’s own background and local community rather than following one shared design brief.

Only the designers are expected to receive a limited friends-and-family run of their footwear, with individual projects scheduled to surface over the next year ahead of Air Max Day 2027. It remains unclear whether Hatsuki’s design will move beyond the concept stage, but it provides one of the first detailed looks at what came out of Nike’s AirWorks program.

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