Nike Air Max 90 Essential "Bright Crimson"

Colorway: Wolf Grey/Black-White-Bright Crimson · Style code: AJ1285-012 · Release date: May 26, 2018 · Lowest resale ask: $2,009 · Availability: Available now

More colorways & related: Nike Air Max 90 Essential "Cool Grey" · Nike Air Max 90 Grape — Hyper Jade · Nike Air Max 90 SE "Batman" · Nike Air Max 90 SP — Triple Black · Nike Air Max 90 SP — Medium Olive Sequoia · Nike Air Max 90 Premium — Diffused Blue · Nike College Air Max 90 (Ohio State) — University Red/Black · Nike Air Max 90 Premium — Light Orewood Brown/Blue Tint · Nike Air Max 90 G x Eastside Golf — Black/Dark Smoke Grey · TD Nike Air Max 90 EasyOn — Black White · Nike Air Max 90 FL1 Grade School — Black/DK Smoke Gray · TD Nike Air Max 90 LTR — White/Jade Ice

All Nike Air Max 90 release dates & colorways

About the Nike Air Max 90 Essential "Bright Crimson"

Bright Crimson does a specific job here. Grey and black fill the upper, white runs the midsole, and the red is held back for the branding and sole trim, which is exactly where the 1990 original placed its accent to make the depth of the Air unit obvious. Whether or not that was the intent, the effect is the same. The Essential line is Nike's standard construction for the model, leather and mesh with no premium materials, and it sits at the general-release price, $110 in this case.

Nike released the pair in May 2018. Wolf Grey is one of the more useful base colours on this silhouette. It is light enough to show the panel layering clearly but dark enough not to need constant cleaning, and it works with almost any accent colour dropped on top. That combination is why versions of this grey, black and red arrangement reappear in the line every few seasons in slightly different proportions.

Written with AI from brand specs; facts checked against our catalog data on Sep 18, 2026.