Nike Announced Air Works, a Program for the Future of 3D-Printed Air Max Shoes

Nike is celebrating Air Max Day today, and as a part of their festivities they’ve announced Air Works, a new program that invited designers from around the world to lend their ideas to the future of 3D-printed Air Max shoes.

Air Max Day is here. Nike’s annual holiday for their most iconic sneaker line celebrates the culture they’ve built over the last several decades, through special releases and retros. This year is a continuation of last year’s Air Max 95 anniversary, with nearly every major release feature the iconic AM95. Our full roundup of their releases for the 2026 holiday can be found HERE, though be warned; most of the best styles are already sold out.

One of the main releases for the day was a restock of the Air Max 1000, Nike’s first fully-3D-printed sneaker. These printed sneakers are made in collaboration with Zellerfeld, one of the leading producers of additive manufacturing footwear. In addition to this restock, Nike has announced the Air Works program, which will further their exploration of printed sneakers through the help of designers from around the world. The Swoosh has invited eight designers from their homes in Beijing, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Shanghai and Tokyo to their Oregon campus in May to work with current Nike designers on their own printed Air Max sneaker. These special projects will launch throughout the year in limited, friends & family editions in each city, before the grand finale is revealed for Air Max Day 2027.

The Air Works program is very similar to the design contest Nike held years ago, which gave us the Sean Wotherspoon Air Max 1/97. These projects from Nike present an incredible, life-changing opportunities to the creatives involved, and we are expecting some wild and innovative new designs to showcase the technology throughout the year. Best of luck to the designers involved, and see you again for Air Max Day next year.

Check out the teaser images below, and stay tuned to JustFreshKicks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more of the latest sneaker news, release dates, and restock alerts.