Nike Air Max Zero: Launch Schedule, Retail Price for Highly Anticipated Sneaker

Every legend began with humble origins.

The Air Max line has become one of Nike's most iconic shoes. The first shoe debuted in 1987 and has since become synonymous with the brand. On Sunday, Nike will lift the veil on the Air Max's illustrious roots.

The company announced that the Nike Air Max Zero, based on the shoe's original blueprint, will be released at noon ET on March 22. The Air Max Zero will retail for $150.

The company revealed the design and colorway for the shoe in a unique Instagram video:

Although the general look is true to the 1986 creation, the shoe has been slightly updated to meet with today's standards.

According to John Kim of Sneaker News, Air Max Zero designer Graeme McMillan built in the Air Max 1 Ultra outsole. The shoe will also boast plenty of comfort at a relatively reasonable weight by "adding fuse uppers for minimal bulk and weight while monofilament yarn mesh sourced the toe-tip of the sneaker."

Essentially, the shoe is the perfect blend of old-school design with modern-day specifications.

In the press release for the Air Max Zero, Nike provided a brief history for the entire line. It recounted the most accepted fable, which is designer Tinker Hatfield going to Paris, reaching an epiphany and creating the original Air Max 1 in a fit of innovation.

However, the true story is slightly different:

This is the story that most know — but it is only half true. The Nike Air Max 1 wasn't designed in one shot. Rather, it was the result of several design iterations, one of the earliest being the concept of the Air Max Zero. Unknowingly channeling designs that would not come to fruition until many years later, Hatfield focused on a shoe that featured only the necessities for supreme comfort and performance.

Some will likely question why a shoe so slick and visionary will have waited decades to see the light of day. In an interview with Designboom, Hatfield explained that he and his cohorts were a bit wary of throwing something so different on the market:

My recollection is that the shoe was received favourably by Mark Parker and the rest of our team to begin with. But at a certain point during the design process we asked ourselves 'how many new things can you introduce to the market in one shoe?' So what followed was a refinement process where we backed off a bit and decided to be less radical with the upper and focus on the midsole with the visible air window - which, would become the AIR MAX 1.

By today's standards, the Air Max Zero looks relatively tame, but it's easy to see how Hatfield might have thought a sneaker aficionado would've been a bit turned off by having a product with so many new tweaks. Creating something radical and inventive doesn't always guarantee that people will want to buy it.

Plus, it's hard to argue with the decision in retrospect given how successful the Air Max has become. Maybe the Air Max Zero would've been a dud, and the entire line never becomes what it is today. Who knows?

Between its sleek design and rich history, the Air Max Zero will be a must-buy for many sneakerheads.