Nike Introduces the Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket, a Bold Evolution in Air Innovation

Nike Air is a limitless innovation platform, pushing boundaries for nearly five decades to deliver unparalleled performance and comfort to athletes* around the world.

Now, Nike is building on its longstanding history of Air innovation to introduce the brand’s most technically engineered garment of its kind: the Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket, powered by A.I.R. (Adapt. Inflate. Regulate.) Technology and worn by Team USA athletes competing in Milan this winter.

Air Milano is a groundbreaking advancement in adaptive outerwear, combining Nike’s industry-leading Air technology with innovative materials and computational design to provide dynamic warmth so athletes can personalize their thermal control in all conditions. The versatile, lightweight jacket adapts to athlete needs, allowing them to regulate their temperature in real time without changing layers by inflating or deflating air within the jacket’s baffles, offering warmth levels that range from a hoodie to a mid-weight puffer.

This is made possible by a breakthrough two-layer composite laminate material that’s both durable and soft to the touch, giving rise to an entirely new sensation in performance outerwear.

This application of Air is also one of four major tech advances Nike is unveiling this month, joining innovations across mind science, advanced cooling, and powered footwear in demonstrating the depth, breadth and impact of Nike’s commitment to athlete-obsessed innovation.

“Air Milano signals a new and exciting era in Nike’s legacy of Air, bringing forward a distinctive innovation that offers responsive and intelligent insulation to all athletes,” says Danielle Kayembe, Expert, Apparel Product Innovation Management. “Air Milano shows Nike at its best — blending athlete science and data-driven design to create responsive, engineered garments that drive athletic performance.”

After studying years of data illustrating the challenges of competing in cold weather, Nike designers found a solution in the brand’s iconic Air technology, which offers a simple answer to the universal problem of heat regulation during movement — allowing athletes to moderate their temperature without shedding or adding layers.

While most outerwear designs are limited by the horizontal construction required to contain down or synthetic fill, the designers found that a jacket built around Air technology freed them from those constraints, offering new possibilities in aesthetics and fit.

This research gave way to Air Milano: a statement of precision engineering and sculpting of Air through volume and space that merges cutting-edge materials with refined design. Every detail has been meticulously crafted using digital tools and computational design to expertly tailor Air — creating a sculptural and dynamic design that balances art and science, informed by data and body mapping from the Nike Sport Research Lab.

Built to inflate or deflate in seconds, the jacket redefines what’s possible in adaptive outerwear, foreshadowing a future of dynamic Air that can take outdoor apparel to a whole new space.

The jacket also complements material innovations across Nike’s Functional Innovative Technologies (FIT) system of apparel, which includes Therma-FIT insulation, Aero-FIT cooling technology, sweat-wicking Dri-FIT solutions and Storm-FIT weather protection. Further, it builds on Nike’s 20-year history in inflatable outerwear, beginning with the ACG Airvantage inflatable jacket and most recently including the ISPA Adapt Sense Air.

“This innovation marks a bold new chapter for Nike, as we have successfully evolved Air technology to create an outerwear solution that serves athletes and pushes the boundaries of what apparel can do,” says Amie Achtymichuk, Lead Apparel Development Innovator.  “Air Milano isn’t just another jacket, it’s a living innovation. Every detail was engineered to let athletes tune their own comfort and fit, creating a personalized experience that amplifies their performance and redefines adaptive outerwear.” 

Air Milano will deliver dynamic warmth to Team USA athletes this winter as their medal ceremony look in Milan. Each Team USA jacket features exclusive sculpted design elements, a custom-made ACG pump, metallic twill branding, and an interior lining graphic that depicts the Garden of the Gods, the team’s home in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Accessibility features include interior bottom hem thumb loops and a magnetic zipper designed to help Paralympic athletes close and zip the jacket.

Each feature has been honed through more than 380 hours of wear testing in Colorado, where athletes trialed the jacket while running, hiking, biking, skiing and snowboarding in the wild across a range of conditions, ensuring it meets their thermal needs during every aspect of their movement and day.

“Designed for tunable warmth, this jacket blends innovation with a sculptural form that feels alive, redefining the sensory experience of outerwear,” says Drea Staub, Director, Innovation Apparel Product Design.

* If you have a body you are an athlete.