From the Vault: Parra x Nike Air Max 1 “Amsterdam”
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By Stadium Goods |From the Vault: Parra x Nike Air Max 1 “Amsterdam”
We revisit one of the most sought-after Air Max 1 releases ever.
Matt DeSciora
I may be showing my age, but I can remember a time when collecting sneakers was considered a niché hobby, one with regional biases. When I was first getting into sneakers back in the early 2000s during the NikeTalk and InStyleShoes message board days, cities like New York, Los Angeles and the DMV area, in particular, were heavy into the Nike Air Force 1, Nike Cortez, and New Balance 990, respectively. Those cities also had passions for other shoes, no doubt, but for a variety of reasons, had adopted specific silhouettes as their obsessions of choice.
Things are quite different now with the internet and social media connecting us on a global scale. It’s easy to see what’s hot in one city or another when everything is just an Instagram post away. Because of that, you’re just as likely to see a crispy “White on White” Air Force 1 being worn by someone in Harlem as you are in Marfa, Texas, since everyone is tapped into the same shared pool of ideas.
Every once in a while a shoe will come across my timeline, or pop up in our inventory, that’ll remind me of the culture’s old provincial ways. That’s exactly what happened when I recently found out the Parra x Nike Air Max 1 “Amsterdam” had passed through our doors.
Parra x Nike Air Max 1 “Amsterdam”
From Nike’s “Capitol Series” from 2005, the “Amsterdam” Air Max 1 puts on for the city it's named after, and for all of Europe, a continent that’s been enamored with the Air Max series since its inception. The shoe was released exclusively in Europe, specifically in Paris, London, Berlin, and of course in Amsterdam. Its ties to the Dutch city go beyond its nickname and “Amsterdam” branding on the tongue and heel, as famed Amsterdam-based artist Piet Parra is responsible for its design. A design, in fact, inspired by the city’s famous Red Light District, which is deserving of its own Google search if you are unfamiliar with its history.
More than just a great colorway, the Parra “Amsterdam” Air Max 1 is a throwback to a time when Nike’s Tier Zero releases were truly limited in scale. No one is sure how many pairs were made, but it is believed that around 200-250 exist in the wild. Speaking of wild, the “Amsterdam” is so rare, so of-its-era that Nike didn’t even bother to produce any sizes above 11.5. Nike did, however, produce a few “Friends & Family” colorways in 11.5-plus sizes, but tracking those down is even more difficult: only a few pairs exist in a hyper-limited version with “Parra” embroidery.
While a lot has changed since the mid-aughts, and shoes like the “White on White” Air Force 1 may no longer be endemic to Harlem, brands are still releasing regional-exclusive colorways like the “Amsterdam” Air Max 1 that showcase an area’s love for a particular shoe. Think the Air Force 1 Low “Rucker Park,” the Cortez x Union Los Angeles collaboration, and the New Balance 992 “DTLR.” At least that’s what my Instagram feed tells me.