About

The largest window in the range

The Nike Air Max BW appeared in 1991 and owes its name to the Big Window: the largest visible Air window Nike had put in a heel up to that point. Tinker Hatfield drew a silhouette that looks chunkier and wider than its predecessors, with a broad midsole that gives the air unit plenty of room. Where earlier models still hid the air a bit, the BW puts the window on display.

Persian Violet

The version that defines the model is the original Persian Violet from 1991. On a black mesh-and-suede upper run a white midband, a blue-violet Swoosh and the same hue returning at the heel and in the Air window. It’s a calm, cool combination that lets the shape speak, and it remains the face of the Air Max BW.

Where it sits in the range

The BW followed soon after the Air Max 90 and extended its idea of visible cushioning: bigger cushion, wider chassis, more presence on the foot. In the broader Nike Air Max family the BW is the model that opened the window to the fullest, before later entries ran the chamber the full length.

The colorways

Besides Persian Violet the BW appears in a series of equally recognizable colors: the white Sport Red with red Swoosh, the White Violet that applies the OG scheme to a white base, and the Marina Blue. The model also turned up in city editions, with a Rotterdam version and a City Pack including Lyon and Beijing. Each of them sits on the same broad, recognizable chassis.

A beast with a window in the sole that prefers to show its air rather than hide it.

On this page you can see which versions of the Nike Air Max BW are currently hottest according to the Hypescore, from which price they can be found and at how many shops they are in stock.