In recent years, Nike, Inc. has been dinged by industry analysts for its perceived lack of innovation. The company, according to advisors, had become too reliant on surefire successes with its retro footwear. As much as sneaker enthusiasts love the brand’s staple silhouettes such as the Air Force 1, Air Jordan 1 and Dunk, an overabundance of them had led to steady pricing promotions, leading the Swoosh to pull back on production of those sneakers under the guidance of newly appointed chief executive officer Elliott Hill. 

Detractors said the brand needed to introduce fresh designs, the sort of sneakers that people would be excited to see reissued 10 or 15 years from now. And yet, there’s one unique franchise in the Nike lineup that defies this argument. One that’s managed to have a hold on the lifestyle market with a decades-old design while still pushing the envelope and earning high acclaim in its newest forms. 

Nike’s Vomero line was first brought to market in 2006. The brainchild of former Nike designer Aaron Cooper, the first model in the line was conceptualized while he was residing in Amsterdam and seeking insights from athletes outside of the U.S. “The concept was to live/work in areas around the world that could create new product from unique insights for the global business. Germany and surrounding country runners wanted ‘premium cushioning,’” Cooper recalled in a November 2024 Instagram post.

Premium cushioning is exactly what he and the team at Nike delivered. The debut Air Zoom Vomero introduced a soft, forgiving EVA foam known as Cushlon and paired it with Nike’s proprietary full-length Zoom Air unit. Originally named “Nirvana,” the Vomero name is taken from a hilltop town in Naples, Italy.

The combination of Cushlon foam and Zoom Air tensile units proved so popular that it would remain the under-the-hood setup in the Vomero for nearly a decade. It wasn’t until 2015’s Air Zoom Vomero 10 that the brand made a change, replacing Cushlon with its newer Lunarlon foam, which made it Nike’s first shoe to pair Lunarlon and Zoom. 

Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods-sponsored marathon runner Ben Jonhson, who reviews running sneakers and shares his training progress with his 158K Instagram followers, tells FN that the Vomero line has been a reliable option for runners seeking a more cushioned ride than the Pegasus franchise which, at its 41st iteration, is Nike’s longest-tenured running sneaker. 

“The Vomero has been a staple for running enthusiasts and professionals for a long time,” Johnson attests. “Even if some have been less commercially successful than others, they’ve always been a useful tool for the dedicated runner that puts in a lot of miles and wants something more plush than the Pegasus lineup.”

With a proven track record on the performance side of the market, the Vomero is also one of the rare sneakers that’s managed to crossover into lifestyle territory. Air Jordans aside, there aren’t many lines under the Nike, Inc. umbrella that have been able to connect with both sectors of the market simultaneously. Even Nike’s beloved Air Max franchise was regulated to retro-only output following the Air Max 2017 edition. Yet the Vomero has persevered.

Thus far, the Zoom Vomero 5 has been the only model reissued from the nearly 20-year-old series. It’s become one of Nike’s hottest retro sneakers, but it wasn’t an immediate success. After the Zoom Vomero 5’s 2011 debut, Nike first experimented with bringing back the model in 2018 through a collaboration with British fashion brand A-Cold-Wall. 

Released in two colorways, the A-Cold Wall x Nike Zoom Vomero 5 featured sculptural plastic blocks affixed to its heels, a polarizing addition that was perhaps a touch too avant-garde for the everyday consumer. Standard inline versions would follow in 2019 and while they were popular, the retro model still hadn’t reached its full potential. The Zoom Vomero 5 would then disappear from shelves for a few short years before resurfacing in late 2022, a reissue which began with women’s exclusive colorways and quickly became a fixture of Nike’s lifestyle business. Dozens upon dozens of styles have been released since, and the model remains ubiquitous as an everyday shoe. 

“I love the retro Vomero 5,” Johnson says. “They look great and feel great as a casual shoe. They’re much lighter than other casual shoes and feel comfortable all day.”

While the Zoom Vomero 5 remains a top seller for Nike and regularly receives new looks, the brand’s running division is busy working on the next evolution of the franchise. For 2025, that means the Vomero 18, a max-cushioned model which combines two of Nike’s cutting-edge foams with high-performance ZoomX laid atop of the ever so slightly less bouncy ReactX. 

The Vomero 18 earned high marks from running enthusiasts, Johnson included, yet Nike may have saved the very best for last. In June, it introduced two even higher-performance versions of the model, the Vomero Plus and Vomero Premium. Similar to how the Oregon-based sportswear brand recently added various tiers to its Pegasus franchise (and soon, the Structure), the Plus and Premium versions of the Vomero offer even more responsive rides than their predecessor through the use of full-length ZoomX and exposed Air Zoom units, respectively. 

“The Vomero Premium is a key part of my training journey to break the four-minute mile. It’s so soft, cushioned and comfortable, and it helps me train harder with less impact to allow me to recover faster and stay focused on my goal,” Kenyan Olympic runner Faith Kipyegon, who is the world record holder for both the 1,500 meters and the mile, said in a press release.