The Air Jordan 1 is many things. It’s the first shoe to be worn by the greatest basketball player, the sneaker that revolutionized collecting, and a timeless classic that connects generations. The Air Jordan 1 is also today’s most loved sneaker, with hundreds of variations being produced over the past decade. The Last Dance brought Michael Jordan’s story back to public consciousness.
Every pair of Air Jordan 1s has a story. There’s a story behind almost every pair of Air Jordan 1s. The Barons serve as a reminder of the fact that the greatest basketball player ever lived took a year to ride the bus in the Minor Leagues. The Lettermans refer to the colors of the tracksuit Michael wore as a teenager when he said that the Breds were too ugly.
The shoe’s first Retro Pack is a tale of abandonment.
The History Of Air Jordan
Nike did something that it would do hundreds of time to great fanfare in the following 25 years. In 1994, a newly retired Michael Jordan began a new career as a White Sox farm worker. They re-released Air Jordans that had been long out of production. It was a rare event that the company attempted, but few people cared. Nike released pairs of its iconic shoe in commemoration of 10 years.
Perhaps the $80 price tag for an old shoe was too high when they were newer. Perhaps it was because Jordan was away playing baseball. Perhaps it was the wide range of sneaker options available, including MJ’s latest, Air Jordan 10. They sat on shelves. The price of the shoes fell to $19.99. Kenneth Myers Jr. recalls that they were then sold in stores not well-known for carrying the coveted kicks.
“I wouldn’t even say that they were outlet-bound,” Myers Jr., a 25 year-old AJ1 fan who runs the Instagram account Mr_unloved1s. He traces his love for sneakers back to those 1994 retros. “Sears and JCPenney was, depending on where your home was, where you would find them.”
Today, the story is impossible to believe. Retros that were once priced at $19.99 now sell for 100x that amount. The AJ1s and Jordan Brand are more important than ever. In 1997, the brand became its own subsidiary within the Nike umbrella. The brand’s first billion-dollar quarter was posted in November. This was led by sales of two sneakers: the Air Jordan 34, its latest from the signature line, and the Jordan 1 which saw at most 80 versions released in 2019. For comparison, the Jordan 4 was the second most popular retro of 2019, with 18 releases. The classic silhouette is in high demand, exceeding the levels of 35 years ago when it disrupted the sneaker market. With the Last Dance reviving interest in basketball’s most beloved son, it is possible that demand will only rise.
Gentry Humphrey, vice president of Jordan Brand, says that it is difficult to distinguish Michael’s world and the footwear world in which we are part. “They are really, really synonymous.”
The Jordan 1 is back at top of the sneaker market, with new versions being announced almost daily. There are also a variety of general-release sneakers for every man and high-end items such as the Dior, which are expected to retail at $2,000. How did a 35-year old model become the most sought-after sneaker in the game, and how do you do it? As with Michael Jordan’s renewed hype, it’s not about recognizing greatness. It’s about telling the stories that create the myth.
The basketball rolls towards the man who is standing on his own on a playground court. He flips the basketball up with one foot, like a soccer ball, and then sprints. As the sound of jet engines fades into the background, the camera switches to slow motion. He’s soon in the air, his left arm extended, and at cruising altitude. The next frame shows us looking up at the sky as he hits the ball against the rim. He asks, “Who said man wasn’t meant to fly?” The voice-over plays with only clouds on the screen as if speaking directly from the heavens.
This was how Nike told the story of Michael Jordan in six cities where it launched his signature shoes in April 1985. On its own, the campaign wasn’t groundbreaking–Jordan wasn’t the first athlete or even basketball player to receive his own sneaker, and Nike had already developed a reputation for its ads-but considering the stakes involved and what would follow, it proved to be downright revolutionary.
The company needed a success story in 1984. Reebok had gained market share from Nike, and Nike was losing ground. Running shoes were outselling trainers. The situation was so dire that Chairman and CEO Phil Knight opened his annual Letter to Shareholders with a grim outlook on Nike’s current predicament. “Orwell was right: 1984 wasn’t a good year.” Nike signed a rookie Michael Jordan to one of the most lucrative sneaker deals in history. It was a risk. It was a risk. The $2.5 million contract had a five-year term. There was an option to cancel the contract if the player did not meet certain performance criteria. He had to win Rookie-of-the-Year, be an All-Star or average 20 points per games for his first three seasons. But it could pay off tremendously. Nike needed a product that was worth the investment.
Peter Moore, the lead designer, came up with a solution that achieved all of this and more. It is a magnificent piece of footwear, the first Air Jordan. It is high-cut and made from premium leather. It also allows for color blocking, something that was not possible with most other basketball shoes at the time. The iconic Air Jordan logo is prominently displayed. Moore reportedly modelled it after a set of pilot wings. They looked timeless yet futuristic. In 1986 , the New York Times referred to them as “spacebootlike”.
Although signature shoes were made before the Jordans, they were never designed with such intent. Elizabeth Semmelhack is the creative director at the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, and the author of two books about sneaker culture. David Falk, MJ’s agent at the time, and Rob Strasser, Nike vice president, had requested a shoe that was more than just a basketball shoe. Moore’s creation delivered. Semmelhack states that while it had to perform for Michael Jordan, it was also designed with an eye toward fashion and aesthetics.
Russ Bengtson is a former editor and he still remembers the excitement. Michael was the most interesting player to join the league in years. He was an instant All-Star with a flashy, gravity-defying style and was helping the league to go global at a time that it wasn’t easy. Bengtson can’t remember if he knew the player first or the footwear second.
“Did you know who Michael Jordan was before Air Jordan? Or was it the reverse? It’s kinda a chicken-and the-egg thing,” Bengtson says, adding that MJ is still covered on the After The Last Dance podcast.
Nike expected to sell 100,000 pairs of its $65 shoe in the first year. It shipped 1.5 million units in six weeks. Bengtson states that Air Jordan was an extravagant thing and that if it had failed, we’d be looking at a completely different sneaker world. However, the gamble paid off. The AJ1s established a new standard in sneaker fashion. They even created a alternative life as a skating shoe a few decades after their debut. After the Jordans were out for a full calendar year, Knight opened his shareholder letter. He stated that the design and MJ’s success on the court had contributed to the story and made it an iconic. It was as if man was meant to fly.
Nike has always been a storyteller. The most well-known commercial for the Air Jordan was released shortly after the “Meant to Fly” spot. It only took a little fiction to get there.
Anyone with a passing interest in sneakers will be familiar with the broad strokes. In February 1985, a month before the AJ1s went on sale, the NBA sent a letter to Nike stating that MJ would not be allowed to wear the new black and/or red shoes he had worn previously because they were against the league’s dress code. Shoes must be at least 51 per cent white. Nike took advantage of this opportunity. Nike debuted a national commercial that suggested that the banned shoes might offer a competitive advantage. The announcer, who is gravelly voiced, says that “The NBA threw it out of the game” as the camera pans down Michael’s sleek, long legs to reveal the pair commonly known as the Breds. The NBA cannot stop you wearing them, however.
Legend has it that Michael was subject to a $5,000 fine by the league each time he stepped on the court wearing them. Nike was happy to pay the fine and generate free publicity even though the shoe was also available in traditional colors. A flagship product that could have been disastrous turned out to be an asset.
Semmelhack said, “It linked this phenomenal player and these eye-catching sneakers, and it spoke about ideas of American exceptionalism.” Here’s an amazing man, not only because of the hard work he puts in but also because he does it his way.
It turns out that the story is not so simple.
Marvin Barias was looking through the forums on the sneaker-news website Sole Collect in 2012 when he asked a question. Does anyone have photos of Michael Jordan wearing the banned AJ1s during an NBA game? Everyone had seen the famous photo of him during the 1985 slam-dunk contest . Back then, the NBA uniform rules weren’t in force and he wore the Breds with a gold chain. They were not available for him to wear in a regular-season match.
“People were saying that he was fined $5,000 per game for wearing the shoe,” Barias said. He runs the Instagram account @mjo23dan, and writes about sneaker culture and shoe culture. “So I thought it would make sense to ask the simple question: “Well, is there any photo of him wearing that black and red shoe?
Barias found photos of MJ in 1985 wearing the iconic Chicago colorway. This, unlike the Breds, was sufficient white to satisfy the NBA’s uniform requirements. However, the allegedly offending Breds weren’t to be seen. Barias started digging through grainy newspaper photos and YouTube clips and enlisted the assistance of other sneaker obsessives to track all mentions of Michael’s shoes through interviews and other articles. He found nothing, even though he returned to the Bulls’ preseason game.
The black-and-white photo of Jordan’s Madison Square Garden debut could look like the infamous AJ1s. They are black-and red leather high tops with the words “Air Jordan” emblazoned at the back. Closer inspection reveals that the tongue and toe boxes are not part of the AJ1, and that the collar and heel don’t have the Peter Moore design. These shoes were what the NBA referred to in its 41-word note about Nike. The Air Ships was a different model. It was a general-release sneaker and received a soft push from company ads. They were worn by Michael throughout his rookie campaign, until the real Air Jordans arrived at the court in April 1985 in league-compliant colours.
Barias states, “You can see the Air Jordan 1 and it’s a shoe which has gained notoriety over time.” “But the Air Ship existed before the Jordan 1. Jordan was wearing that shoe.
Barias detailed his findings in an 2016 Collector article. In the same year, a petition was started asking Nike to retrofit the Air Ship. The company did not acknowledge the Air Ship despite growing demand and increased buzz. One cryptic tweet was the only exception to this. In late 2019, Jordan Brand revealed its “New Beginnings” pack. Two pairs of sneakers were released in February 2020: the Air Jordan 1s and red and white Air Ships. Barias felt that pairing the two models was the best way to increase public awareness of the Air Ship. He says, “If you put it out there by itself, people won’t understand the story.”
The true Jordan sneakers were still banned, even though the red and white versions are available. These sneakers also made a comeback, though in their original form. Aaron Goodwin, a sports agent, tweeted pictures of a signed set after The Last Dance’s.
Barias said that it was as if the world was being introduced to an undiscovered holy grail for their first time.
The Banned story, in isolation, is a triumphant marketing success: Taking one detail and using it to create feverish hype about a new product or company face. Its place in the Jordan story makes it a myth. The sneaker was so revolutionary that the league had it shut down. It was worn by a player who would change the game. The story is almost apocryphal, but it doesn’t seem to matter much today. Every legend has an origin story. Sometimes, the best stories have some fiction.
There are over 1,000 Jordan 1s available on GOAT. This makes it the largest sneaker marketplace app by volume. There aren’t many Jordan 1s from 2001. The original 1985 line includes the black-and-red Breds and the Chicagos. There is also a pair in Metallic Blues listed at $5,000. The 1994 pack is also available for $1,585, provided that can fit into mens sizes 8 or 8.5 . Then, for seven years, nothing. Jason Mayden’s story explains why this changed at the turn of the century.
He was a child growing up in Chicago during the 1980s and 1990s, long before Mayden spent 13+ years at the brand. He can still recall the moment he first saw a pair Jordans. It was fourth grade, when Tiana, his classmate, walked in in the Military Blue 4s. He says, “I was looking at her cycling shorts and got into trouble.” “I was staring at her shoes and I took a chance to catch a glimpse.”
Mayden had now set himself a goal for his life. He was a Batman fanatic and became obsessed with Lucius Fox’s inventions. In order to be able to design sneakers for Nike, Mayden began sketching. In 2001, Jordan Brand hired him as a full-time designer intern. He estimates that the company had about 70 employees at that time. He learned from Jordan Brand’s founder, who was a leader and visited campus regularly to impart wisdom to the team. It was “kind of like the little brother at Nike.”
“MJ sat down with us and said, ‘Hey! We can do it. Are you interested in being part of history’s creation? Mayden states, “We can become a billion dollar brand.” We all believed it.
However, no one outside of the company could have predicted that AJ1 Retros would be a way to achieve this goal. The innovation that made Jordans successful over the past 15 years was the reason why the Jordan 2 was released in late 1986. A new model was then introduced every year starting in 1988. Every new model brought new innovations, including a Nike Air bubble for the 3, a reflective tongue for the 5 and a mesh upper with a patent-leather muguard. The price of the shoe grew as tech improved. Semmelhack said that collectors were born out of the annual updates. However, the emphasis was on getting what was new and not what was old. “When you make it part a series, you can provide reasoning, which is something that a lot male consumption requires: “I have Air Jordan 1, 2, and 3. I should make sure I have 4 and 5 for my collection.
As throwback jerseys became more popular, so did interest in throwback sneakers. In the mid-1990s it was all about having a new pair of sneakers, keeping them clean, and wearing them with everything.” “Five years later, it’s all about having many different outfits with completely different components.
The rise of the internet was another major shift that occurred around the turn century. The rise of the internet opened new avenues for reselling and provided a forum for classic collectors, such as Sole Collector and NikeTalk. If you know what to look for and how much you are willing to spend, sneakers fans can find almost anything. Bengtson states that it opened up the world’s basements, closets, and attics to everyone. It allowed you to dig through the stuff of someone else, almost as if everyone in your area was having a garage sales at the same moment.
Slowly, Jordan Brand began to capitalize on the moment. In 1999 , a few Jordan 4s were released, followed by some 5s and 6s and finally 11s in 2000. Jordan released seven pairs of AJ1s in 2001. This included Black Royals, Breds, and a few Japanese specials. Although production didn’t boom immediately–there were only two AJ1s in 2002 and three in 2003, as well as none in 2005 or 2004, there was still demand by the end. Releases like the Strap Bred proved that the iconic silhouette was still in fashion. With the Fragment design collab in late 2014. and the Shattered Backboards, the market boomed. The next year saw the remastering of Chicago’s. The AJ1 has been elevated by recent releases like the acclaimed Union Los Angeles collaboration.
Jordan Brand was able to revisit old designs and grow the relatively new Nike branch with the throwback moment in the early 2000s. The decision to embrace them might have been made out of necessity. Mayden claims that the brand’s designers were short-staffed and could not meet market demand for new sneakers at the time. He says that it was a great business strategy to take the pressure off of the designers and not have to create everything new. It was a wonderful moment to be at this point in time, when everything is normal.
The Air Jordan 1 still captures imagination. The “Banned” and “Meant to Fly” ads weren’t the most successful Jordan campaigns. That distinction goes to the Jordan 3 Mars Blackmon, “It’s Gotta Be the Shoes” commercials featuring Spike Lee. Michael didn’t like the 1s. He preferred the 11s which he wore in Space Jam . These sneakers are not ideal for basketball, as the thin rubber soles make them difficult to use. The 1s were not the shoes Michael wore when he became champion. His legend was made with red 6s.
The look is part of what makes the AJ1 so popular. Peter Moore’s most iconic sneaker has a distinctive yet classic design. It pops without being too flashy and was the last Jordan to have a swoosh. It’s also the most practical Air Jordan. “You can play basketball, skate in it and you can wear it at a fashion show–I mean you literally can wear it anywhere,” said Houston Rockets forward P.J. Tucker’s first basketball shoes were the AJ1s that his mother gave him when he was growing-up in North Carolina.
Air Jordan Collaborations
The first Air Jordans are also a status symbol. Off-White CEO Virgil Abloh launched his Nike collaboration with a pair deconstructed Chicago1s in 2017. Travis Scott recreated the iconic silhouette using his Cactus Jacks. Kylie Jenner owns a pair of the yet-unreleased Diors. Shoes aren’t just the king of sneaker, but they have a special place in the hearts of fashionistas and influencers.
Lena Waithe, a writer and actor, says that Jay-Z and the guy bagging your groceries are wearing the exact same shoe. “Michael Jordan is just as important to Jay-Z as it is to the person who bags the groceries,” says Lena Waithe.
Humphrey, brand vice president, said that Jordan’s success with the AJ1 was due to the fact that influencers and designers were able to work with it. Abloh, a Chicago-born designer, is able to tell his story through Off-Whites in a way he could not with any other shoe. Scott’s AJ1 reimagining of the iconic silhouette puts his artistic stamp on it, making him an iconoclast just like MJ when the “Banned” commercial was released.
Humphrey states, “We can really use it as an easel to paint with other people.”
The brand has a secret weapon, however: the legend of MJ and the way that the AJ1s can tell. For example, the Shattered Backboard 2015 resurrected a forgotten piece of the legend of MJ. The 2009 DMP Bulls Celtics pack is a tribute to MJ’s breakthrough performance against the Celtics during the 1986 playoffs. The retro Air Ship isn’t just a smart business move. It’s also a nod towards MJ’s roots and an addition to the canon. The perfect canvas for storytelling is the AJ1, more so than any other version.
Humphrey said that the brand approaches many AJ1 release in a similar way to Picasso’s work. Although the individual elements might seem confusing at first, such as eyes that appear to be looking in different directions or a non-traditional swoosh, the overall concept of the composition is unified through the backstory. The complexity of life is represented by the eyes in the painting. The multihued swoosh of the “A Star Is Born” AJ1 is Michael cutting through Bucks defenders on his first Sports Illustrated page.
Humphrey states, “We’ll tell stories. We’ll come up ideas and concepts. Then, as we veneer the project, we hope that customers can begin to appreciate all that we have put into it.”
However, MJ’s stories only one part of the connection. Everyone seems to have a different story about how they got to the AJ1. Tucker, who was born in the 1980s, just miles away from Jordan’s University of North Carolina campus, saw them as the beginning of his passion for basketball. Tucker still has his original AJ1s. Tucker said, “That’s part of why [I] am an NBA player, why my love for sneakers, and why I do damn close everything I do.” They are Bengtson’s youth. His parents couldn’t afford the Jordans at that price. They instead got him a pair of $35 Nikes at Marshalls–ironically, the Air Ships, which were decades away from being revealed as the holiest of grails. Bengtson finally got his first pair Jordan 1s from Goodwill in the early 1990s. “They were two sizes too large for me and pretty beat-up, but I bought them anyway because there was no way I could get another pair of Jordan 1s,” he recalls.
