The Nike Dunk’s dominance over the past two years has been well-documented. Thanks to clever influencer marketing, anti-phishing partner tactics, and consistent launches, Dunk has become the sneaker of the moment. Both the SB and non-SB versions are off the shelves, resold at exorbitant prices, and at the top of everyone’s must-deal lists coming up this weekend.

But after two years of being obsessed with Dunk, Dunk fatigue is slowly but surely starting to spread across the industry. This is reflected not only in the sheer number of Dunks being released each week, but also in the Storepc resale data, which is a good indicator of sneaker popularity and hype. Between April 2020 and April 2021, the average resale price of a Nike Dunk from Storepc has dropped from over $400 to just over $200. Higher inventory and higher releases led to Dunk fatigue, followed by lower resale prices for new releases.

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This is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s nice that those who couldn’t get their hands on an earlier version can now get a more widely available generic version, but the sneaker community is calling for a new “it-sneaker.” I believe this year’s new sneaker/sneaker/sneaker of the moment (or whatever you want to call it) will be the Nike Air Max 1. All stars fit Air Max. 1 has a huge 2022, where the Dunk is similar to the Dunk in the way Nike kicked off the Air Max 1 era.

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First and foremost, the Nike Air Max 1 is one of the most iconic sneakers Nike has ever made. Similar to Dunk, it has a long and rich history. Originally released in 1987, the Air Max 1 was designed by Tinker Hatfield and launched the Air Max line that spawned some of the Swoosh’s most beloved pieces. Next year will be Silhouette’s 35th anniversary. Celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2020, the Nike Dunk is known for showing great love for its most influential shoes at every opportunity. So I expect the 35th anniversary to be grand and extended, like Dunk’s celebration, technically starting in 2019 and continuing through 2021.

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Nike has started to bring the Air Max 1 into the consciousness of sneaker fans through partnerships and special releases. Last year, the Nike Air Max 1 “Powerwall” Backpack received another critical acclaim. Denham is said to be collaborating on an (underrated) pair in 2020, while Fragmented Design CLOT co-founders Edison Chen and Hiroshi Fujiwara both showed off the unreleased Air Max 1s.onion. The early start reflected the way Travis Scott was used to promote the Nike Dunk, as he was often seen on Instagram wearing the classic Nike Dunk and OG. This started in 2018, but became more apparent in 2019, when Travis Scott had a Dunk for every suitable photo on Instagram.

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