The Nike Air Max 95 "Slate" releases Thursday, May 7 for $190 in adult sizes and $147 in GS sizing — the first time the original 1995 colorway has appeared in the Big Bubble remaster that collectors have been chasing since the 2022 "Neon" reissue. Style code IH7855-100. Available through Nike SNKRS and select retailers.
The Slate Colorway Has Only Returned Twice in 30 Years
"Slate" was one of just five colorways Sergio Lozano shipped when he debuted the Air Max 95 in 1995. Nike has only brought it back twice since: once in 2005 for the silhouette's 10th anniversary, and once in 2015 for its 20th. Both reissues used the slimmed-down Air unit Nike adopted after 1996. Neither attempt fully captured the proportions of the original.
That changes Thursday. The 2026 release pairs the gradient blue suede upper — White, Lake Blue, French Blue, Obsidian, Black — with the larger Air bag that Nike has been quietly restoring across the line since the "Neon" Big Bubble dropped in late 2022. The Emerald Green Air unit, the visible "95" branding on the heel, the chunkier midsole stack: it's the closest a retail Air Max 95 has come to a 1995 sample since the Tinker Hatfield era ended.
This Is the One Collectors Have Actually Been Waiting For
The "Neon" Big Bubble reset the resale market overnight when it returned in 2022 — the OG colorway, in OG proportions, executed correctly. Everything that has dropped since has been a test of how far Nike could extend the formula. The Levi's "Denim Black" collab, the UNDEFEATED "Shanghai," the mismatched "Greedy" reissue: all good shoes, all built around the Big Bubble premise that the original Air unit is what makes the silhouette read right.
"Slate" is the first of the 1995 originals to follow "Neon" into that treatment. The fact that Nike held it 30 years before getting around to a proper reissue — when "Neon" got two — is the implicit acknowledgment that the rest of the original lineup matters too. "Comet" red is reportedly next, slated for later in 2026.
What to Watch on Release
The early sizing has already trickled into select retailers, which usually means a Thursday SNKRS drop with quick sellouts in the heat sizes. Resale on the "Neon" Big Bubble still sits well above retail four years after release; "Slate" doesn't have the same instant brand recognition, but it has 30 years of OG status behind it and a much narrower release window than the relentless 1995 "Neon" cycle.
If you're trying to build a Big Bubble grail rotation, this is the second pair on the shelf.
Source: WWD/Footwear News · SneakerNews
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