Nike Air Max 90 Essential "Cool Grey"

Colorway: Black/White-Cool Grey · Style code: AJ1285-018 · Release date: December 11, 2018 · Lowest resale ask: $371 · Availability: Available now

More colorways & related: Nike Air Max 90 Essential "Bright Crimson" · 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 "Cool Grey"

Cool Grey is the colour that makes this one work. Black covers the base and overlays, white runs the midsole and trim, and the grey fills the mid-panels so the layering stays visible instead of collapsing into a blackout. Three values, clearly separated, which is close to how the silhouette was colour-blocked in 1990. Nike sold it in the Essential tier, the standard leather-and-mesh construction, at $110 in December 2018.

The sole is unchanged from the original formula: a visible Air unit set into the heel behind its moulded plastic window, a two-tone foam midsole and a waffle-pattern rubber outsole. Grey-and-black pairs like this are the workhorses of the 90 range. They read as neutral without being plain, the black hides wear on the overlays, and the white midsole is the only part that needs cleaning. That combination is why Nike keeps a version of this arrangement in the line almost every year.

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