Nike has opened an interactive Air Lab preview at Dropcity during Milan Design Week, showcasing over 100 prototypes of air-based footwear innovations. The exhibit, running from April 20 to 26, offers hands-on workshops and sessions exploring air as a design medium. It previews a permanent installation set for fall 2026.
Nike took over Dropcity, an architecture and design center in Milan, to launch the Air Lab preview. Visitors can explore more than 100 never-before-seen prototypes, including concepts like Air Liquid Max, FlyWeb, Radical AirFlow, and Therma-FIT Air Milano. The experience includes a library of samples and swatches from these developments, along with eight tool stations focused on aspects of air in design: visualizing, forming, deforming, pumping, suctioning, calibrating, cooling, and blasting. Attendees who register gain access to stations featuring robotic arms, thermoforming machines, and pneumatic cylinder kits. Workshops emphasize “air as a design medium,” with panels featuring Nike team members. Additional sessions include listening events hosted by Club to Club and breathwork led by Joe Holder. This retrospective ties into the Air Max 1's architectural roots, inspired by Paris’ Centre Pompidou in 1987 by designer Tinker Hatfield. The original Nike Air Tailwind introduced air cushioning in 1979, but the visible Air Max cushion debuted with the 1987 model. With the Air Max 1 approaching its 40th anniversary in 2027, the Air Lab bridges its heritage and future innovations. The preview is at Via Sammartini 72 in Milan, Italy, open through April 26.