Air Jordans, also known as Jordans, Js or AJs, are a brand of shoes originally worn by legendary basketball player, Michael Jordan. Since its first release in 1985^{[citation needed]}, there have been new editions released each year, even after Jordan retired from basketball. Jordan shoes are made by Jordan Brand, which is a part of Nike.

Air Jordans are relatively expensive compared to most other sneakers and are considered by some obsessives to be collectors items^{[citation needed]}. Collectors classify Air Jordans by release year and model: Originals (OG), Retros, Retro+'s, and Samples. Every once in a while certain limited edition color ways are also released.^{[citation needed]}

Air Jordan I

Designed by Peter Moore and released in 1985, the Air Jordan I is considered a revolution in basketball shoe design^[1], although its design was improved upon later with the Nike Dunk. The shoe gained much initial publicity and interest when the National Basketball Association banned it, saying that its vibrant black and red color violated the league's design rules, giving a five thousand dollar fine to Michael Jordan every time he wore the shoes on court. Nonetheless, other shoe companies scrambled to emulate the design, with some even introducing direct knock-offs.

In 1994, the white/black-red and black/red colorways were retroed and sold very poorly^{[citation needed]}. Many went on sale for as low as $20 in stores^{[citation needed]}. When the I's were retroed again in 2001, they sold out instantly.

In 2007 new re-retro I's will release, one of which will be a "Beginning Moments Package" (BMP) or "Old Love, New Love" that will include a re-retro of the extremely rare white/black-red black-toe colorway.^{[citation needed]}

The first sightings of the Air Jordan I occurred on November 17, 1984 in a game between the Chicago Bulls and the Philadelphia 76ers.^{[citation needed]} The first colors unveiled were the banned black/red design, due to a violation within the leagues policy regarding its lack of support^[1]. It was announced later that Nike would release them to the public the following spring.^{[citation needed]}

Air Jordan III

Designed by Tinker Hatfield the Air Jordan III was truly revolutionary. It was the first Air Jordan to feature a visible air unit on the heel, the new Jumpman logo, an elephant print trim, and tumble leather for a luxury look. The III's are also famous for the humorous ads depicting Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon.

The III's had poor sales when first retroed in 1994. However when they were re-retroed they sold out instantly. A pair of these online can go for sale for prices over 300 dollars. In 2007 the long awaited "Fire Red" III's were released in March 2007.

Michael Jordan has reportedly said the III's were and still are his favorite Air Jordans to date.

In 2007, Jordan brand will collaborate with director Spike Lee to release a limited pair of III's in a special colorway to resemble the Do The Right Thing movie poster.

2007 also saw the "retro'ed" versions of the Jordan III's in 2 monotone colorways, all black and all white, nicknamed the "Black Cats" and the "Pures," respectively.

Air Jordan IV

The Air Jordan IV shoe was first released in 1989, designed once again by Tinker Hatfield. It wasn't as revolutionary as the first three models, but it still became the first released Jordan shoe on the world market, with some exceptions. Its cushioning sole and design made it an international bestseller.

Spike Lee, the director/actor who helped in the ad campaign for the Air Jordan III, created the famous Can/Can't TV commercial. He also gave them promotion in his movie Do The Right Thing. A classic scene in the movie for Jordan fans has a person who has his new AJ IVs scuffed by a bicycle rider and goes crazy about it. He places his shoe on a fire hydrant and cleans it with a toothbrush.

The shoe was retroed in 1999 in a white/black colorway and a black/cement colorway. Stores were sold out of IVs within hours of release. However, when Nike (or Jordan Brand) released the first Retro+ model of the IVs, many claimed that they "destroyed a classic" by removing the nets on the shoe, among some other subtle changes. The real Jordan IV has the "NIKE AIR" logo on the back. Nike replaced it with the Jumpman logo. Rapper Slick Rick has stated that he will purchase the entire retro line released this year.

In 2006 Nike released many Retro packages of the IV, including "Mars Blackmons" ("Red" IV's with Spike Lee's alter ego on the heel), "Military Blues", and the $500 "Thunder and Lightning" package.

Air Jordan V

The original Air Jordan V was released in February 1990. Again designed by Hatfield, and like his other designs, this was again truly revolutionary. Some elements were the same from the Air Jordan IV, but the V's most distinctive feature is arguably its reflective tongue. There was also another innovation: clear rubber soles. The soles gave the shoe a whole new and unique look, but it yellowed over time when exposed to moisture. Collectors' responses to this was storing the shoes in a cool, dry place with a desiccant at the soles, most commonly silica packs. The Jordan V also came with lacelocks, making strapping on easy.

Hatfield is rumored to have drawn inspiration for the AJV from the World War II Mustang fighter plane; easily seen in the shark teeth shapes on the midsole. The V was retroed in 2000 to great demand, including a new colorway featuring Michael Jordan's high school (Laney High) colors. In 2006 several re-retro V's had released including the very popular "Grape" V's, and the "Fire-Red" V's. Along with the latter, a very limited laser design and the black/metallic/fire red colorways were released in early 2007.

One cannot think of the Air Jordan V's without thinking of NBC's The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air as Will Smith regularly wore on set many classic OG colourways during the 1st season of the hit sitcom making the V's very popular to fans and teenagers in the process.

Also the Air Jordan 5's were a top seller. More 5's were made than any other pairs of Jordans. The Jordan V is considered the best design and structure to actually wear during games.

Air Jordan VI

The Air Jordan VI was released in late 1990 early 1991, and Tinker Hatfield created another instant classic. The shoe features a rubber tongue with has two holes in it which the bearer can easily put the shoes on. The clear soles and the lace locks were brought back from the Air Jordan V. If you look at the shoe at a side angle you can see the figure 2 standing up on the back of the shoe and the figure 3 lying down facing the ground close to the laces.

The Air Jordan 6 was the shoe Jordan wore when he won his first championship.

The shoe was retroed in 3 color ways in 2000. The first was the Olympic color way for Ray Allen when he represented USA in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The second new color way featured a white upper and navy blue accent. The third was the black and deep infa red.

In 2006 a black and gold color way was released along with the Air Jordan XI named the "Defining Moments Package," (DMP) celebrating the shoes Jordan wore when he won his first championship and his first championship returning to the NBA from his baseball career in the MLB.

Air Jordan VII

The Air Jordan VII was released in late 1991 early 1992.

Tinker Hatfield created a shoe with lots of similarities with the previous model. What was unique with the VII's was that they used some of the Nike Huarache technology to create a shoe that really stuck to your foot. The visible air sole, the Nike Air logo, and the yellowing soles all were gone. The Jordan VII is also commonly known as the "Bunnys" due to the fact that the commercial featured Bugs Bunny

When Jordan went to the Olympics with the Dream Team, Nike released a special Olympic color combo of the VII's. This model also featured Jordan's Olympic jersey number, 9 which made it very special since all of the previous models that featured his jersey number had always been either stitched or printed with the number 23.

Various retros of the Air Jordan VII were released in 2002, again in 2004, and again in different colors in 2006.

Air Jordan VIII

The Air Jordan VIII was released in 1992/93.

The eighth model of the Air Jordan was noticeably heavier than its predecessors. Its base was clearly close to that of the VII, but it had a lot more details, and some die hard collectors came to call this the flower-power Air Jordan. . This shoe was only made in three different color combinations. The shoes were produced in less quantity than the VII. The Air Jordan VIII was re-retroed in September of 2007 in its aqua and black/red color along with a navy and orange and a white and orange colorway with the retail price of $139.99.

Air Jordan IX

Originally released in November 1993, the IX was the first Jordan release after his retirement. It was also made as a baseball cleat that MJ used during his post-Bulls baseball days.

The white/black version was worn by MJ for one scene in the 1996 movie Space Jam.

Like the Air Jordan VIIs, and VIIIs, the IXs feature an inner sock sleeve and nubuck accents. The sole features different symbols and languages of different countries.

The Air Jordan IX has been immortalized as the shoe chosen to adorn Jordan's feet for his statue outside of the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

Air Jordan X

The Air Jordan X made its debut in 1994. Jordan wore the X in 1995 before switching to the XI in the playoffs. The X featured a full grain leather upper, a quick lacing system, and solid rubber outsoles which listed Jordan's previous accomplishments. There were multiple colorways released for different large cities across the United States. The original colorway, white/steel grey/black featured an extra piece of leather on the toe for more durability. Jordan, however, did not like this so Nike removed it on future colorways. This was the one sneaker that Michael did not fully approve of, this is probably because Tinker Hatfiled did not design it and because it was made while Michael was still playing baseball.

Air Jordan XIII

The Air Jordan XIII's, from 1997/1998, are some of Michael Jordan's favorite shoes. They have very good cushioning along with breathability. This was the same time MJ announced his retirement from the NBA for the second time. They were designed again by Hatfield. Also they were re-released in 2005 at about the same time the XX came out.

The shoes were inspired by a black panther, which is known for its stealth and swiftness. The "pods" on the outsole of the shoe resembles the paw of a panther. This provided more coverage and support on the basketball court. A hologram is featured on the outer heel of the shoe which changes color as the viewer moves around the shoe, as well as reflect light. This represents the eyes of the panther in the dark.

In the Spike Lee film, He Got Game, Denzel Washington's character wears a pair of black and white 13s while out of jail.

Air Jordan XIV

The XIV was modeled after Michael Jordan's Ferrari 550 Marenello with its sleek design and logo. There are over 9 colors of the XIV including his Bulls colorway, white, and black.

According to solecollector.com's shoe expert Professor K, the Air Jordan XIV is the most comfortable Jordan ever, even as a retro shoe.

It is known for being the best Jordan in terms of performance, blowing away even the most modern of basketball sneakers.

As an added extra, there are seven Jumpman logos on each shoe, 7 + 7= 14.

The black/varsity red - black version is sometimes referred to as the last shots because Jordan was wearing them during the last game he played with the Bulls which he finished with a game-winning shot over Bryon Russell. It was the first and only time in Jordan's professional career he wore the shoe.

Air Jordan XV

As the first Air Jordan released after Jordan's second retirement, sharing a similarity to the Air Jordan IX in that Jordan never played professionally in the shoe. There was some skepticism as to their comfort. The tongue of the shoe stuck out to mimic Jordan's well known habit of sticking his tongue out while playing. The woven kevlar Jordan 15 was modeled after the X-15.

This was supposed to be Tinker Hatfield's last Air Jordan (he later came back to design the Air Jordan XX) and is widely recognized as being somewhat of a failure in terms of performance and style.

Air Jordan XVII

This shoe comes equipped with a silver suitcase,which held the shoes and a CD containing the AJ XVII song. As well as a steep price of $200 when first released. Known as the most expensive Jordans ever produced. They were made in 4 mid top colors and 1 lowtop color.

Air Jordan XIX

Released in 2004 and modeled after the black mamba snake, this is the first Jordan release after his third, and final, retirement. Three special editions were released. They consisted of the East, West, and Olympic edition.

The Air Jordan XIX uses innovative materials. The upper was developed in collaboration with Material ConneXion Inc. from a sleeving normally used in architectural applications for protecting PVC pipes from bursting. In theory, this allowed for a lace-less shoe because the sleeving does not stretch, however the XIX did include a set of laces behind the sleeve to better secure the shoe. While the sleeve is an interesting design concept, its functionality is questionable.

Air Jordan XX2

The Air Jordan XX2, designed by Dwayne Edwards, was released on March 24, 2007. It retailed for $175 when it first came out, although it has gone down some in price, as can be expected. The aggressive and sharp design was inspired by the F-22 Raptor fighter jet. Some technical features of the shoe include an updated visible, interchangable independent podular system, a new metallic mesh for ventalation, the new Air Jordan camo pattern printed in reflective 3m, and an updated traction system, based on an army general's stripes.

There were two special editions released. The first was for Michael's birthday on February 17. These were made of authentic Brand Jordan basketball leather. The second was the Omega edition, part of the Alpha-Omega package. These feature a laser-etched image of the man himself after he won his iconic sixth title.

Other Shoes

Aside from the signature shoes, Air Jordan makes shoes that are more affordable than the signature shoes. Air Jordan also makes training, casual, baseball, and football shoes. They are known as a stylish shoe.

Team Jordan

Basketball

• Michael Jordan
• Carmelo Anthony
• Ray Allen
• Richard Hamilton
• Mike Bibby
• Chris Paul
• Josh Howard
• Tim Duncan
• Quentin Richardson
• Eddie Jones
• Michael Finley
• Joe Johnson
• Derek Anderson

Boxing

• Roy Jones Jr.
• Andre Ward

Football

• Warren Sapp
• Terrell Owens
• Marvin Harrison
• Ahman Green
• Jason Taylor

Baseball

• Derek Jeter
• Andruw Jones

Colleges

• University of North Carolina
• Georgetown University
• University of California, Berkeley

External links

• "Jumpman" official site
• The Jordan Collection at NikeStore.com
• Nike Air Jordan Release Dates

Nike, Inc.
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References

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