Most sneaker retros copy the old shoe. One Block Down was handed one of the most collectible Air Max 95s ever made and decided to fix the map on it. The Milan shop, which has been running since 2009, has worked with Nike on four versions of the Air Max 95 LUX, a shoe that first appeared in 2001 as a Made in Italy edition. Nike's own launch copy calls that original one of the most refined footwear projects it has ever done. The new pairs come in Black, Green, White and Red, and each one carries a chrome hang tag shaped like Italy. The old LUX tag left the islands off. This one includes Sicily and Sardinia.
What the 2001 Air Max 95 LUX was
The Air Max 95 started life as a running shoe built in layers, with wavy side panels shaped like an anatomy drawing over a visible Air unit. The LUX version took that frame, made it in Italy and treated it like a luxury object rather than a trainer. Twenty five years later, Nike still singles it out as one of its most refined pieces of footwear, which says a lot for a company with that many shoes in the archive.
One Block Down did not try to reproduce it stitch for stitch. Nike's copy for the Black pair explains the choice: one tone from toe to heel, so the Italian leather is the whole show. That is also the only colorway Nike is releasing through its own store.
Inside the Air Max 95 LUX Italy
The construction is where this gets interesting. Instead of the usual stack of separate side panels, the upper is a single padded leather piece, molded with the same flowing curves as the original. A light embossed pattern runs across the top of the upper for texture. On the Green, White and Red pairs, the color is a tonal gradient printed digitally straight onto the leather, following the curves and the stitching channels. It is brightest near the laces and fades to near black at the sole.
One Block Down is upfront about two details most brands would bury. First, leather takes printed color unevenly, so no two uppers will match exactly. Second, the leather is prepared and finished in Italy, but the shoes are assembled in Vietnam. So this is an Italian leather shoe, not a Made in Italy one like the 2001 pair.
Flip the shoe over and there is a custom TPU window in the sole with artwork for the Air Max 95's 30th anniversary. It runs the green, white and red of the Italian flag through the Air unit, along with One Block Down graphics.
Where to buy the One Block Down Air Max 95 LUX Italy
- Black on Nike SNKRS: the global release, out November 19.
- Green, White and Red at One Block Down: listed on the shop's release page. These are the three color pairs that tell the Italy story.
The shop is also running an in-store game at its Via Padova space in Milan on November 13, from 3 to 6 PM, with pairs and pieces of apparel as prizes. Entry is by RSVP.
If you like the idea of a classic rebuilt in better materials, our New Balance 990 explainer covers the American take on the same thinking, and our Air Max Ecstasy Plus story shows where Nike's newer Air Max designs are heading.
Our call: buy the Black pair on November 19. It is the one you can actually get, and it is the purest version of the idea, with the leather and the reshaped one-piece upper doing the work. The Red is the showpiece of the four, and if you can get one from One Block Down, it is the pair that looks least like any Air Max 95 you already own. Skip it if you wanted a true Made in Italy reissue. That shoe is still the 2001 original.
