Deflated Expectations for Nike Air Max 95 x LEGO?
Today’s guest article comes from Richard Dryden, a builder, DJ and sneakerhead who has competed on LEGO Masters and helped create the Awesome Black Creativity project.
A New Air Max Day
Each year on March 26th, Nike celebrates one of its most iconic lines known for pushing the envelope in the design and performance of its air cushioning system. Keeping with the tradition that started in 2014, this year’s wave includes myriad styles with two significant standouts: a bright glossy Nike x LEGO Air Max 95 (neon yellow) that looks fresh out of a comic book, and a buildable Air Max 95.
Nike Air Max 95 x LEGO image via Nike PressRoom
As the LEGO Group and Nike have limited the wearable sneaker to little kids and big kids’ sizes, this article will focus primarily on 43025 Nike Air Max 95. The set follows last year’s LEGO Nike Dunk. Similar to 2025, this first collaboration for 2026 also centers on a large-scale sneaker that pays homage to a pivotal era of sneaker innovation—when air units supported the frontfoot and forefoot, as well as the midsole’s big bubble. Signage accompanies the build, like 43008’s “DUNK.” Bubble lettering using frost colored parts spells out “AIR,” reminiscent of the loud branding on the Nike Air More Uptempo (designed by Wilson Smith).
The recoloring of the clear sloped curved corner round, and the satin trans clear dome top feels like LEGO is elevating their own product the way Nike did in ‘95. Compared to the LEGO Nike Dunk, the LEGO Air Max 95 is a more intricate sculpting of a very complex shoe, a sign of the brand’s evolution in footwear.
The overall build experience, however, lacks the fun of the much smaller Trickshot, which blended nostalgia and the gameplay of shooting hoops. The expanding features of the Dunk and the AM95’s display stand that open up to store small items look convenient, but they fall short in their connection to the shoe’s origin.
The Anatomy of Air
The original concept of the Air Max 95 was inspired by human anatomy. Nike’s designer, Sergio Lozano, interpreted the layered texture of muscle fibers as wavy panels on the outsole of the shoe; the rib cage was represented in the lacing through the eyelets; skin for the breathable mesh on the upper; the spinal vertebrae for the heel counter.
Behind the design of the Air Max 95 via Nike
If you’ve built the recent 40921 Up-Scaled Blue Astronaut Minifigure, you might have seen one the first pages of the instruction booklet commemorating the first appearances of the blue space explorer. Given the wealth of history behind the Air Max 95, I wished there was a page in the manual that honored the past, with a spotlight on Lozano and the lead LEGO designer.
The connection to the human body is subtly referenced in the promotional animated clip (referenced above) featuring Nike Sportswear-clad minifigures and a skeleton minifig (a nod to human bones). That might be the most fun you’ll see if you’ve followed the rollout of both the set and the wearable sneaker.
I have to applaud the LEGO design team for their consistent attention to detail, down to the precise accuracy of printing on the minifigure’s legs. Throughout the Nike x LEGO partnership, two out of three minifigures have sneakers printed on their legs, from the B’ball Head minifigure to the Air Max 95 character.
On second thought, a bone-colored LEGO Nike Air Max 95 could actually go well with kids (à la Jurassic Park).
Building the Air Max 95
I had pretty low expectations for this set once I opened the box. I wanted to jump straight to the sneaker, so I started with the second half of the build, which is bag number six.
Where this shoe is going, it won’t need roads.
It starts out with a rectangular framework. We’re at the bones of the build—the inside of the body if you will. As a pretty knowledgeable sneakerhead, I had a vision of this being a template for a vehicle—car, boat, spacecraft. Nike designer Tinker Hatfield created Air Jordans by taking elements from the bastion of the automotive industry.
According to Nike’s archives, the spiky shark-tooth accent on the Air Jordan 5 midsole came from fierce illustrations on American WWII fighter planes. Then the Air Jordan 14, took cues from luxury automotive design—think Ferrari and Lamborghini. Those types of references don’t happen anywhere in the build process of the LEGO Nike Air Max 95. The only car connection I could make is through the windscreen used in dark blue for the Shelby Cobra.
Sculpting the Air Max 95 with curved elements
skinning it with wedge plates
The SNOT brackets are attached to the sides, similar to the frame of the LEGO Nike Dunk High. The undulation effect in each layer is a little more advanced than the sequence of 2x4 tiles for the Dunk High. LEGO’s design team did a great job to mirror the curvaceous panels, not just for aesthetics, but for strength. With three layers of plate-stacking for a color gradient of light gray, sand blue, and metallic silver, the bricks and plates are locked in.
Just like its real-life counterpart, more materials yield a heavier shoe. The goal of the Air Max 95 was to make it lighter, so they designed it with less foam, which is heavier than the air units. LEGO prioritized this detail, along with sourcing its own neon yellow color as the base plate of the brick-built air module. Seeing through the new clear elements throughout the sole commanded my attention the way the original AM95 hooked me as a high schooler.
According to Nike lore, Sergio Lozano, who worked on Nike’s All Conditions Gear (ACG) collection before the AM95, sketched ideas facing mountain ranges in the distance of Nike’s HQ in Portland, Oregon. The rolling peaks and valleys are akin to the undulation of the Air Max 95’s side panels
I put myself in Lozano’s shoes, by building this LEGO rendition with New York State’s Balsam Mountain overlooking me. I was obsessed with applying the two sheets of stickers because I wanted the outlines to match up to the seams in between each LEGO plate.
Vintage Nike Air Max 95 print ad
set 43025 and vintage Air Max booklet
I remember seeing this sneaker in athletic stores like New York City’s Paragon Sports and on the feet of my best friend. They glowed with character, whether standing on the dim subway platforms or on the blacktop of our school courtyard, where we played basketball. They were versatile for all sports. They became the sneaker of choice for celebrities. Supermodel Beverly Peele slipped into them, along with rapper Ghostface Killah, plus World Cup champion footballer Ronaldinho Gaúcho, have been spotted in the AM95.Pro skateboarder Stevie Williams was known to skate in the Air Max 95, going against the grain by wearing such an expensive shoe.
Aside from the neon accents being a main attraction, I think the dots on the printed slope 30 pieces are the best part of the sneaker. If you’re about six feet away, the dots blend with the yellowish-green wedge elements, lining up perfectly to recreate the look of the perforated upper. If you can see it from across the room, then you’ve unlocked something deeper within the sculpture that makes you want to get closer and examine the rest.
Still Room to Play
There isn’t anything wrong with making a display set. Sneaker collectors display shoes they wear and don’t wear too. I might have taken the “play” objective of the Nike x LEGO partnership too literally, expecting a more imaginative purpose for Nike’s classic designs in brick form. Back in 2024, I made a crude rendition of artist Bill McMullen’s Shuttlemax, a 3D vinyl toy he created that merged the colors of the neon Air Max 95 with the silhouette of NASA’s Space Shuttle Endeavour
Shuttlemax by Bill McMullen for KidRobot
Shuttlemax MOC by Richard Dryden
For Air Max Day, I also had an idea for a Nike and LEGO animated series called the Maxies—a revival of Mixels, my beloved LEGO franchise which also debuted in 2014. Using small builds as vehicles for high concepts is an ethos I still pride myself on. I’ve already tried to integrate the Smart Brick into the “AIR” signage, but I haven’t quite figured out how to make the brick fit (legally). Adding the Smart Brick to the midsole would also be an interesting twist, but light-up soles were more of an L.A. Gear concept in the early 1990s, not for Nike.
I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the Air Max 95 MOC by CHAZ. The artist revealed his brick-built AM95 last May on Instagram using a studs out approach. The LEGO Group contrasts these designs by employing their stable of designers to apply more smoothed edges, printed parts (plus two small sticker sheets) and in the Air Max 95’s case, a set of technic beams to retract the tongue.
Sneaker Brix MOC via designbychaz
If 2026 looks anything like 2025, I’m hopeful the next Nike x LEGO set leans further into play without losing the shelf appeal collectors enjoy. The 43025 Nike Air Max 95 proves that LEGO designers can faithfully translate one of the most technically ambitious sneakers ever made into a buildable model. Now I’d love to see that same creativity applied beyond the silhouette itself. The Air Max 95 is an impressive display piece and a loving tribute to a sneaker legend, but I still believe the most exciting chapter of the Nike x LEGO collaboration hasn’t been built yet.
LEGO Nike 43025 Nike Air Max 95 x LEGO Set is available for around $100 US | $140 CA | €100 EU | £90 UK | $150 AU.
DISCLAIMER: This set was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
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