The Nike Air Max 1 London Underground Roundel is a tan, red, brown, and black colorway released in December 2013 as part of a collaboration celebrating the 150th anniversary of Transport for London.
This shoe marked the first time Nike used jacquard material as the primary upper construction on an Air Max 1. The densely woven jacquard creates a single-piece upper that transitions across blocks of contrasting colors inspired by the upholstery patterns found in London’s Underground train cars. Rather than traditional leather or mesh overlays, the overlays here are also constructed from the same jacquard print, maintaining visual continuity across the silhouette. A black-stitched Swoosh cuts across the midfoot in classic Air Max 1 fashion, and roundel branding appears on the tongue.
The shoe originally dropped exclusively at a Piccadilly Circus pop-up shop before rolling out to a limited number of tier-one Nike Sportswear retailers. It came in special NSW packaging with London Underground branding. Retail was set at £95 (roughly $300 USD), slightly undercut from its package-partner, the Air Max 90 Roundel.
The Roundel AM1 remains elusive for collectors. The jacquard construction was genuinely innovative for Nike Sportswear at the time, and the execution here shows real consideration for both the source material and the silhouette’s proportions. If you find a pair in good condition, it’s a legitimate piece of collaborative sneaker history.