Nike Air Max 1 NL Premium 'Elephant Print - Black Varsity Red'
Colorway: Black/Black/Varsity Red · Style code: 313227-001 · Release date: January 2005 · Price: $150 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Air Max 1 NL Premium 'Elephant Print - Neutral Grey' (313227-002) · CLOT x Nike Air Max 1 Premium 'Kiss of Death' 2006 (313227-161) · Nike Air Griffey Max 1 (JA1091-100) · Nike Air Griffey Max 1 (JA1136-100) · GS Nike Air Griffey Max 1 (IV6222-410)
This NL Premium release stamps the Air Max 1's leather upper with an elephant textured print across the mudguard and heel overlay, set against a black base with varsity red detailing at the tongue and heel counter. It released in January 2005 as an in house Nike colorway, without an outside collaborator attached to the design. The pattern gives the shoe a heavier, textured look compared to the model's smooth leather originals.
Nike's elephant print first appeared on Tinker Hatfield's Air Jordan 3 in 1988, and this pair carries that same graphic onto the Air Max 1 he designed the year before. The print has since become one of the more recognizable treatments applied to the Air Max 1, later picked up by outside collaborators as well as further in house releases. This 2005 pair predates those better known versions, using varsity red rather than jade or orange as its contrast color.