Supreme’s Air Max Plus sneakers are its best Nike collab in years

Supreme and Nike haven't teamed up on a can't-miss sneaker in years, but that finally looks to be changing with the new Air Max Plus. The 22-year-old sneaker has been done up in three new color treatments, two of which are blazing with color. It's possible, in fact, that the brightness of the sneakers may cause you to miss that the striping (or "fingers") has been modified to spell out "Supreme."

The two more colorful Air Max Pluses take on the appearance of flames, while a third and cleaner version opts for all-white with red branding. In place of the hexagonal Nike Air badge that usually appears on the tongue is Supreme's box logo. The rest of the branding, however, remains unchanged.

Flame on — Loudest of the trio is the neon and orange version, which adds blue to the bottom of the fingers to create a flame effect. For the black and red variant, it's pink that forms the base of the flames — and both feature a gradient on the mesh that bleeds out from the fingers.

The "Supreme" spell-out is even more difficult to read on the largely white version, which only sees red on the Swoosh and box logo. All three of the sneakers feature suede on the side and heel panels, replacing the usual leather. Reflective panels also sit on the tongue and were originally designed to increase visibility for night runners.

Sean McDowell's first Nike sneaker — The Air Max Plus was the first sneaker Sean McDowell, a now-storied designer, created for Nike. He actually began conceptualizing the sneaker before joining the giant in Beaverton, and he took inspiration from watching the sunset in Florida. The mesh gradient echoes the sky at dusk, while the TPU-striping is meant to invoke palm trees. On the heel, the shank was modeled after a whale's tail.

Originally designed as a running shoe for footlocker, the Air Max Plus quickly became a hit and endures today as a lifestyle sneaker. Weighing less than 12 ounces, the sneaker was unusually light for its time. The two separate hemispheres of Air Max cushioning was also a new development, and McDowell also used the fingers to bring attention to the visible units.

Dropping alongside a running hat — Three matching Nike Dri-Fit hats will release alongside the sneakers when they release at 11 a.m. E.T. this Thursday. As always, they'll be available through Supreme's webstore and at its physical locations. There's also a decent chance the Air Max Plus will release again later this month through Nike, giving you two chances at these extremely bold and sexy sneakers.