The Complete History Of Patta x Nike Air Max

We take a look the complete history of Patta x Nike Air Max, an ongoing sneaker collaboration that has become one of the most sought after for Air Max collectors all over the world since its origins back in 2006.

Patta is an Amsterdam streetwear brand that first opened its doors of its flagship store in Amsterdam in 2004. The store opening meant a new rush of attention towards the Dutch streetwear scene which has since made its mark firmly on the global scene. Founded by Edson Sabajo and Guillaume Schmidt who were also heavily involved with Amsterdam’s underground hip hop scene, giving them an early footing into the culture that Patta is now well and truly a part of. The duo initially began the store by travelling the world, going to small one-off stores that stocked items that couldn’t be bought in the Netherlands. This was the roots that began the business model of Patta. We take a look at the ongoing Patta x Nike Air Max history from 2006 to modern day from some of the most expensive & collectible Air Max trainers of all time.

It all started on the streets of Amsterdam

Selling a variety of exclusive sneakers and clothing pieces as well as their own brand. The now renowned brand with its notable script font logo, was initially only used on a small number of t-shirts for friends and family. However, due to high demand for the pieces, their inhouse brand launched in the summer of 2011 at the five retailers across Europe at the time of release. Nowadays, the brand has managed to extend its reach worldwide with over 20 stockists including Concepts in the US, BEAMS in Japan and Slam Jam in Italy. As well as having these stockists, the brand has two other brick and mortar stores – one in London that opened in 2016 and the other in Milan that opened more recently in 2019.

Homegrown Grass trainer

Considered some of the most sought after collaborations in the line of Nike Air Max collabs, the Patta x Nike Air Max collection is one for the history books. After only two years of being in business in central Amsterdam in 2006, Nike approached Patta for what would become their first collaboration. Their first joint sneaker release was in 2006 with the Nike Air Max 90 Patta “Homegrown Grass”.

When you read into the name of the shoe and take a closer look at the design, the ideas and inspiration behind it begin to make sense. With a mainly green upper, the shoe has fine leather detailing complete with some leaf prints stamped into the uppers green panels. Complete with a burnt orange detailing within the shoes lining and laces, white accents around the midsole and a gum sole, the shoe became synonymous with the heritage of Patta as well as utilising one of Nike’s most popular silhouettes. Current resale values of the Homegrown Grass trainer start upwards of £3000.

Chlorophyll 5th Anniversary trainer

2009 saw the release of three different colourways on the Nike Air Max 1 silhouette as a way of celebrating 5 years of the Patta store being open. The first of the three was the ‘Chlorophyll’ colourway. With a clean design referencing the original design from Tinker Hatfield, the shoe gave a woodland vibe with a green and white upper with a green suede panel surrounding the upper, swoosh and detailing. Current resale values of the Chlorophyll 5th Anniversary trainer start upwards of £5000.

Purple Denim 5th Anniversary trainer

The second colourway also took a slightly different approach with the material. Coined the ‘Purple Denim’ colourway, the design took a purple and white colour blocking design to the upper with premium denim purple features on the detailing and surrounding the upper. Current resale values of the Purple Denim 5th Anniversary trainer start upwards of £10,000.

Denim Corduroy 5th Anniversary trainer

A more accessible release, the third and final release of 2009 was the Patta x Nike Air Max 1 5th Anniversary ‘Denim Corduroy’ trainer. Amping up the premium materials once again, the shoe boasts and blend of denim, suede as well as corduroy. With alternating blue denim and suede panels complete with a green swoosh and red accents, the colours shouldn’t work in theory. However, the final project was a hit. Current resale values of the Denim Corduroy 5th Anniversary trainer start upwards of £4000.

Lucky Green 5th Anniversary trainer

While the ‘5th Anniversary’ pack was released in 2009 to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the Patta store being open in central Amsterdam. There were in fact two more releases added to the pack in 2010. The ‘Lucky Green’ colourway dropped on the turn of the decade in 2010 and is now a difficult shoe to come by. Unlike the previous additions to the pack, this design took a much more toned down approach. With an almost completely blacked out silhouette, the sneaker used a mesh material around the toe panel and a soft suede material surrounding the upper. A white swoosh broke up the colours of the shoe, along with a set of light green detailing on the laces, tongue and back panel finished off with a classic white midsole and juxtaposing gum sole, making it one of the most sought after sneakers in the Patta x Nike line-up. Current resale values of the Lucky Green 5th Anniversary trainer start upwards of £10,000.

Cherry Wood Parra trainer

The final addition to the ‘5th Anniversary’ pack, called in Dutch artist, and close friend of the Patta team, Parra, to assist on what is called the Patta x Parra x Nike Air Max 1 ‘Cherrywood’. After being teased for months leading up to the official release, this iteration of the Air Max silhouette made it an almost allusive release. In fact, there are only 258 pairs of the sneakers released to the public, making it a cop. Covered in burgundy suede materials complete with light blue detailing on the laces and inside the air unit. The outsole saw some colour blocking that blends well to create an eye-catching take on the Air Max 1 silhouette while still keeping a high end feel. Current resale values of the Cherry Wood Parra trainer start upwards of £7000.

Publicity Publicity Wohooooow trainer

The Patta x Nike Air Max trainer collaboration from 2018 dropped in two different colourways, black & obsidian, and featured a hybrid design which utilised the uppers of the Nike Air Max 90 & the sole unit of the Air Max 95. Fitting with the ‘dad shoe’ trend, the sneaker had a chunky silhouette that was accentuated further by the slimmer Air Max 90 upper. The hybrid collaboration was finished off with a fluorescent green label on the tongue with the words; “Publicity, Publicity, Wohooooow!”. Current resale values of the Publicity Publicity Wohooooow trainer start upwards of £300.

Waves Noise Aqua

October 2021 saw Patta team up with the Swoosh brand once again, with the Patta x Nike Air Max 1 Waves trainer which dropped in 4 different exclusive colourways including ‘Monarch’, ‘Noise Aqua’, ‘Rush Maroon’ & ‘Black White’. The classic Tinker Hatfield silhouette was re-worked with suede & mesh alongside a wavy mudguard for a truly unique finish. Other highlights included mini swooshes, Patta branding to the tongue tab as well as a bracelet which was also included in the drop. Current resale values of the Waves trainer start upwards of £200 for the ‘Noise Aqua’ colourway & £300 for the ‘Monarch Orange’ colourway.

Waves Monarch Orange

The sneaker world may have changed dramatically since 2006 as far as raffles & releases are concerned, but one thing is for sure, Patta are still the kings when it comes to Air Max collaborations. Who knows what’s next for the celebrated Patta x Nike Air Max collaboration, all we know is these grails will always hold their value on the resale market. Shop the entire Patta x Nike Air Max collection now via the links above.