Last year, Nike introduced the Family Reunion pack to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Nike Air Max 95, designing exclusive colorways for a handful of countries that had been formative in the shoe’s success.

Now, the Air Max 90 gets the Family Reunion treatment. But while the Nike Air Max 90 Korea Family Reunion nods to Korea in its title, the design language pays more attention to a piece of footballing history.

All the way back in 2002, a burgeoning star in the form of a 17-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo made his first steps onto a football pitch for Sporting Lisbon. On his feet was a pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor 1 boots.

For football fans, this boot is lodged permanently in their brains. Its iconic dark purple and gold colorway for one, but also the fact that it stood out as a futuristic, lightweight, streamlined beauty at a time when heavy black leather boots were standard. 

The soul of this iconic boot has been lifted and placed into the Nike Air Max 90 Korea Family Reunion. The same gleaming upper material, the same embossed lines that run fluidly along the lateral side, and the same beautiful color palette.

Keen eyes will also notice the mini fold-over tongue which nods to the Mercurial Vapor 1, too. Lift the tongue to find KR branding, combining Ronaldo’s CR7 moniker and Korea’s abbreviation.

This shoe stands at the crossroads of disparate influences but, somehow, feels right. Perhaps this is all down to the flawless color palette.

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