The Backstory of the Air Jordan 1

Nike's Air Jordan series of shoes are very popular. It can be said that the Air Jordan series is the leader of the leading sports brand, and Air Jordan 1 refers to the "Jordan generation". So far, the Air Jordan 34 has been released, so how much do you know about Jordan and AJ1? Where did the inspiration for the design of AJ 1 come from? As the pioneering work of the Air Jordan series, the Air Jordan 1 is undoubtedly the most story-telling sneaker in the long history of sneaker culture. In the era of basketball shoes dominated by black and white, the appearance of Air Jordan 1 "Chicag" and "Bred" colors completely shattered the "old order" at that time, and also opened a glorious road to a legendary sneaker series. On the occasion of Jordan Brand's 30th anniversary, the return of the Air Jordan 1 "Chicago" at this time is a milestone.

And to pay homage to the 1985 original, Jordan Brand has taken great pains to bring the shoes back to their original appearance: the sexy heel without the Jumpman Logo, the authentic Nike Air Logo tongue, and the unbearable 9-hole shoelace design , and even the touching "no shoelaces" release, which seems to take us on a time machine, shuttle back to the Chicago United Center in 1985, and witness MJ's thunderous, elegant dunks, which are memorable. Here, HYPEBEAST will also present the deepest respect for the Air Jordan 1 "Chicago", at the same time open the door to the world of the story behind the shoe, and share its "anecdote and secret history" with you. In 1984, Nike snatched the swinging Jordan from Adidas on a five-year, $2.5 million contract. Later, Nike tried a lot of shoes for Jordan, and he also experienced a short period of wearing shoes. Not long after, designer Peter Moore personally handed over the AJ1 to Jordan, but the feedback he got was "it's too ugly"... After all kinds of persuasion, Jordan put on this pair of sneakers that were somewhat unique at the time Play. In order to promote its own sneakers, Nike took the initiative to help Jordan pay the NBA's "color restriction order" fine at that time, which also created the background of the classic color matching "banned" story. Although it is not AJ1 that is actually banned, the name of AJ is still on. The AJ1, designed with AF1 as a template, still retains some of the characteristics of skate shoes, but it is still one of the best basketball shoes at that time in terms of performance. Jordan stepped on this pair of shoes to kill the Quartet in his rookie season, won the best rookie, and his popularity soared. Several major OG color matching, including Chicago, Ban, Royal Blue, Shadow, etc. are all classics in the classics. Although they are re-enacted many times, each re-engraving can lead to crazy looting and become the most popular shoes after 30 years. And AJ's versions of Mid, Low, KO, etc., which were adapted on the basis of AJ1, still lacked this charm.

Three stories about Air Jordan 1

1. The first short story: Air Jordan 1 High "Chicago" witnesses "God" 63 points

Every pair of sneakers has a legend about its owner, and the Air Jordan 1 is no exception. In the second game of the first round of the 1986 Eastern Conference playoffs against the Chicago Bulls at Boston's TD Garden, Michael Jordan, who was wearing the Air Jordan 1 High "Chicago", scored 63 points. The rookie player really "breaks ground on Tai Sui" for the Celtics who eventually became the championship of the season. Larry Bird did not hesitate to praise after the game, calling Michael Jordan "the god of shoes.

2. The second short story: Air Jordan 1 designer and adidas "3 Bars" brand identity designer are the same person

As the greatest designer in Nike history, Tinker Hatfield's overly dazzling halo seems to steal the limelight from other designers who have contributed to the Air Jordan series. But let's not forget that Michael Jordan's first personal signature shoe was made by Peter Moore. Tinker has only taken over the design power of the Air Jordan series since the Air Jordan 3. Moore, a former creative director at Nike Inc. and co-founder of adidas' US headquarters, created adidas' iconic '3 Bars' logo. It is worth mentioning that while working at Nike, Peter Moore devoted everything to the success of the Air Jordan series in the 80s, until he left Portland to start his own sports company Sports Inc.

3. The Air Jordan 1 High took the skateboard world by storm as soon as it came out

The NBA's ban on wearing the Air Jordan 1 "Bred" black and red color scheme can be said to have made a huge advertisement for the release of Air Jordan 1, and its remarkable effect stimulated the rapid increase in the demand for shoes. The high cost performance of the shoes has also attracted the attention of many skateboard enthusiasts. For example, the excellent cushioning performance that is quite suitable for skateboarding, the high tube design that can protect the ankle, and the leather upper have become the Air Jordan 1 from the Air Jordan 1. A powerful capital for basketball courts to enter the skatepark.