A Look Back: Back to school in the late ‘90s
Take a look back with Drew Hammell of Nike Stories and check out some of the freshest back to school kicks of the '90s.
9.21.18
A Look Back: The Air Max 95 and Air Max Plus
I’ll never forget the first time I laid eyes on an Eastbay catalog. I was in middle school back in 1996. My buddy brought the newest issue into the cafeteria for lunch one day, and my friends and I just sat there flipping through the pages, drooling over the latest Nike basketball shoes and runners. I couldn’t believe how much information was in these catalogs. Sneakers, clothing, and all the technical info to go along with it. I was hooked. From then on, I signed up to get an Eastbay in the mail every month. I treasured them so much that I saved every catalog in my room through high school. And, thanks to my mom and her tendency to save everything “just in case something becomes valuable someday,” they are still preserved. I still own almost every catalog from 1996 through 2003.
Looking back, it’s interesting to see how influential the Air Max 95 and Air Max Plus were back then. Unfortunately, I don’t own any of the catalogs from 1995 (which first showcased the Air Max 95), but Nike continued to churn out new colorways for years after that. This was not the norm for Nike back then. The Air Max 93 was not made in ’94 or ’95. Nor was the Air Max 94 made in ’95 or ’96. But the Air Max 95 was so gorgeous and in such high demand, companies like Eastbay continued to sell them into the late ’90s.
The same goes for the Air Max Plus. Originally debuting late in 1998, the silhouette quickly gained popularity, and Nike continued to release more and more colorways into 1999 and 2000. Since both models are still popular today, I decided to flip through every Eastbay I own from 1996 through 2000 to look back at all the different colorways available for the Air Max 95 and Air Max Plus.
One of the great things about Eastbay catalogs is the ability to pinpoint exactly when a model was released. Typically, in the lower right or top right corner next to the page number is a code for the month or season. For example, “MR98” is March 1998, “0898” is August 1998, “HH98” is Holiday 1998, “BS99” is Back to School 1999, and “SS29” is Spring Sports 2 1999, etc. With that in mind, take a look back at the Air Max 95 and Air Max Plus models through the years:
1. Spring ‘96, page 3, Air Max in Dark Spruce/Varsity Royal/White (women’s), Comet Red/Black (men’s)
2. Sport Madness ‘96, page 17, Air Max in White/Deep Emerald/Black (men’s), White/Light Ultramarine/Midnight Navy (women’s)
3. Christmas Catalog ’97, page 47, Air Max 95 SC in Grey/Yellow/White
4. March ’98, page 85, Air Max 95 in Black/Orange (men’s), White/Grape/Slate (women’s)
5. August ’98, page 3, Air Max 95 in White/Red/Black
6. Christmas Catalog ’98, page 31, Air Max Plus in Blue/Yellow/Sky (women’s), Blue/Yellow/Black (men’s), Air Max 95 in White/Red/Black (women’s), Black/Yellow (men’s)
7. Holiday ’98, page 21, Air Max Plus in Blue/Yellow/Sky (women’s), Machine Grey/Ceramic/Midnight Navy (women’s), Blue/Yellow/Black (men’s), Black/Silver/Red (men’s), Air Max 95 in Black/Fire Pink (women’s), White/Red/Black (men’s), Black/Yellow (men’s)
8. Spring Sports 2 ’99, pages 2 and 3, Air Max Plus in Machine Grey/Ceramic/Midnight Navy (women’s), Air Max 95 in Black/Yellow (men’s)
9. March ’99, page 85, Air Max Plus in White/Lime/Grey/Navy (women’s), Black/Silver/Red (men’s), Resin/Pimento/Ceramic (men’s), Air Max 95 in White/Resin/Pearl Grey (women’s), Black/Blue (men’s)
10. April ’99, page 3, Air Max Plus in White/Lime/Grey/Navy (women’s), Resin/Pimento/Ceramic (men’s), Air Max 95 in White/Resin/Pearl Grey (women’s), Black/Blue (men’s)
11. June ’99, page 19, Air Max Plus in White/Metallic Silver/Carolina Blue/Navy (women’s), Neutral Grey/Royal/Cool Grey (men’s), Air Max 95 in White/Resin/Pearl Grey (women’s)
12. August ’99, page 5, Air Max Plus in White/Metallic Silver/Carolina Blue/Navy (women’s), Navy/Gold/Silver (men’s), Neutral Grey/Royal/Cool Grey (men’s)
13. Back to School ’99, page 67, Air Max Plus in White/Metallic Silver/Carolina Blue/Navy (women’s), Neutral Grey/Royal/Cool Grey (men’s)
14. Training ’99, page 3, Air Max Plus in Blue/Yellow/Sky (women’s), Machine Grey/Ceramic/Midnight Navy (women’s), Black/Silver/Red (men’s), Air Max 95 in Black/Fuchsia (women’s), Black/Yellow (men’s), White/Red/Black (men’s)
15. Spring Sports 2 ’00, Air Max Plus in Grey/Halo/Navy/White, (women’s), White/Silver/Columbia Blue/Navy (women’s), Navy/Gold/Silver (men’s), Grey/Coast/Charcoal/Grey (men’s)
16. April ’00, page 3, Air Max Plus in Grey/Halo/Navy/White (women’s), Grey/Steel/Yellow (women’s), Grey/Coast/Charcoal/Grey (men’s), Grey/Grey/White/Red (men’s)
17. Fall Sports ’00, page 3, Air Max Plus in Grey/Navy/Ceramic (women’s), Grey/Steel/Yellow (women’s), Denim/Silver/Frost (women’s), Grey/Grey/White/Red (men’s), Navy/Black/Blue (men’s), Obsidian/Silver/Black (men’s), Silver/Grey/Black (men’s)
18. Winter Sports ’00, page 33, Air Max Plus in Grey/Navy/Ceramic (women’s), Denim/Silver/Frost (women’s), Midnight/Red/White (women’s), Obsidian/Silver/Black (men’s), Navy/Black/Blue (men’s), Obsidian/rRed/Gold (men’s)
