Undefeated x Nike Air Max 90 'Black Optic Yellow'
Colorway: Black/Optic Yellow · Style code: CJ7197-001 · Release date: December 27, 2019 · Price: $139 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Nike Undefeated x Nike Air Max 90 'Black Blue Fury' (CJ7197-002) · Nike Undefeated x Nike Air Max 90 'Black Solar Red' (CJ7197-003) · Undefeated x Nike Air Max 90 'Black Green Spark' (CJ7197-004) · Nike Undefeated x Nike Air Max 90 'White Optic Yellow' (CJ7197-101) · Nike Undefeated x Nike Air Max 90 'White Blue Fury' (CJ7197-102)
Undefeated's run on the Air Max 90 started here, ahead of the pale spring versions the label put out the following March. The approach is almost the inverse: black leather across the entire upper, with Optic Yellow reserved for the tongue tag, the heel branding and small trim. That restraint is what makes it work. On a silhouette built around layered panels, a blackout removes the colour contrast and leaves the seams and the plastic heel window to define the shape, while a single high-visibility accent pulls the eye to the branding.
Nike released it on 27 December 2019 at $150, about $30 above the general-release 90s of that winter. Undefeated has spent years working in military and team-sport reference points, and black with a sharp yellow accent fits that vocabulary without needing a graphic or a story panel. It also happens to be one of the more wearable collaboration colourways on the model, since it functions as a plain black shoe until the accent catches light.