This New Women’s Silhouette Brings Modern Elegance to Air

A four-female footwear collective, made up of a designer, engineer, developer and product manager, is responsible for the expressive new Nike Air Max Dia. 

The design (which was completed on an accelerated timeline) of the women’s exclusive silhouette began by prioritizing the last, working diligently to achieve a tapered (but democratic) toe-box. The result was a shoe with beautiful proportion — a nod to both craft and utility.

A deconstructed translucent Nexkin upper (a vessel to show personality through sock choice), low collar and big lift combine to complete the modern look. The four dots on the heel represent the four disciplines that brought the shoe to life — a reminder of the power of collaboration. 

The tooling is perhaps the shoe’s true signature feature. The Dia’s elegant stack height is derived from the team’s established goal for the shoe: to highlight the Air unit in the biggest way possible.

With that wish came a ton of questions, including things like what the heel would have to look like, where it would affect the shoe’s design and how to make it look beautiful rather than bulky. It also called for more foam, resulting in more comfort.

Limited quantities of the Nike Air Max Dia will be available December 13 on the Nike App and at select retailers followed by a wider release January 25.