Nike Air Max Plus x FC Barcelona x Patta: Sneaker Release Date, Price, Where To Buy

Patta has collaborated with FC Barcelona on their soccer (or as the rest of the world would call it, football) kits and at the same time offered their take on a classic Nike running sneaker — the legendary Air Max Plus. This triple collab is set to drop on Tuesday for a retail price of $210.

The Air Max Plus has been a staple on Foot Locker shelves and on sneakerheads’ feet since 1998, here in the United States but especially in Europe. Originally designed by Sean McDowell, the shoe was inspired by a recent vacation McDowell had taken to Florida, specifically how the sky in the Sunshine State appeared as day gave way to dusk. He said in a Behind the Design feature on Nike’s website that sketching out the sky left him with the idea it could be turned into a quarter panel where “you could hold your foot down with those palm trees.”

“I did a sunset. I did a blue one. I did a purple one,” McDowell said in the Nike feature. “I tried a couple of different colors and sky versions, some palm trees were a little more techy and very geometric and others were waving.”

He also noted in the Behind the Design feature that the famous shank was inspired by a whale’s tail coming out of the water and that he put an extra emphasis on the top-down view the wearer would see. As for performance, the shoe was also the first to utilize Tuned Air technology, which the Behind the Design feature noted “implemented two opposing hemispheres to evolve the cushioning technology.”

Patta, for its part, has become a beloved Nike collaborator, especially of late on the Air Max 1. Patta says on its website that “partnering on this collection has been a dream come true, a testament to our enduring passion for the beautiful game.” Patta says that the “project’s creative canvas pays tribute to our very essence, reflecting the DNA, passion, and love that define true football aficionados. ‘Barca-blood,’ a metaphorical elixir, that runs through the veins of fans worldwide, uniting us in a symphony of Blue and Red.”

As for the shoe itself, it features the traditional gradient coloring the Air Max Plus is known for, this time embracing the “Barca-blood” of blue and red mentioned above. It will also have a black mudguard, toe cap and mostly a black midsole, with white surrounding the aforementioned “whale’s tail,” which itself is a gradient red and blue. The Tuned Air columns give the shoe a pop of orange, which provides a nice burst of brightness and ties into FC Barcelona’s color palette as well. This collab has a couple of unique departures from the traditional Air Max Plus script, including Patta branding on the tongue where normally the TN Air branding would appear, FC Barcelona crests on the special dubraes and most notably a double Swoosh in blue and red on the upper. The collab will also come in special packaging with Patta branding that continues the Culers del Món story.

Launching with the sneakers will be a clothing capsule, featuring T-shirts, a cap, a track jacket and pants as well as a soccer jersey to, as Nike puts it, prove “your blood runs blaugrana.”

I think it goes without saying that you don’t have to be an FC Barcelona, or even a soccer fan, to appreciate this drop, although these will definitely be must-haves for fans of the famed football club. Given how hot Patta Nike collabs have been, this is sure to be a highly-coveted collection, so best of luck to all looking to pick up a pair of the Air Max Plus or any of the accompanying apparel!

To see more of this month’s releases, check out our release date calendar.