Brendan Dunne 
When you think of Swoosh classics rocking the Nike Air technology of various sorts, chances are the first name that comes to mind is Tinker Hatfield. While that massively important figure was indeed the first to show the world the technology via the visible air bag let’s not forget about Frank Rudy, the aerospace engineer who first pitched the idea of Nike Air to the Beaverton based company back in the 1970s. Of course from that starting point plenty of iterations have splintered off from the central idea of air based support.
Cataloging the rich history of various Nike Air padding systems is this range of catalog scans, showing the progression from the earliest version up to innovations like the Nike Shox and Nike Impax. Even better, the visual guide drops sneakers along the way as a sort of reference point, showing off specific models that housed each episode in the history of Nike Air (and Shox). Stay with us after the jump to check out this awesome historical guide to the cushioning featured in various Swoosh silos over the years (unfortunately it’s not in English, so the pics will have to suffice) and let us know your favorites in the comments below.
Photos: Kenlu
