SNEAKER HISTORY

• Air Jordan I | Designer : Peter Moore | Released : 1985 | Original Price : $65
  The NBA banned the original Air Jordan for not meeting the league’s stringent policy on uniforms and colors. Jordan wore them anyway and faced a $5,000-per-game fine as a result. Recognizing a unique marketing opportunity when it presented itself, Nike happily paid the fine. And MJ rocked them all the way to his Rookie of the Year honor. This Air Jordan was the only one in the series to feature the familiar Nike Swoosh logo. And predating the Jumpman logo, the OG shoe featured the Wings logo – a basketball with wings stretching from both sides and “Air Jordan” printed above the ball. Nike filed the Wings logo as a trademark on May 7, 1985. Leather overlays on the upper offered durability and easy color blocking, and a perforated leather toe box lent ventilation.
• Air Jordan II | Designer : Bruce Kilgore | Released : 1986 | Original Price : $100
  The AJ II shared a silhouette with the Nike Air Python that released in 1987, including a faux lizard skin upper and swooping lines that resembled those of a sports car (which would factor prominently into the Jordan line in years to come). Known among sneaker collectors as the first “luxury” basketball shoe, the AJ II paved the way for the heat that would accompany the Air Jordan III. In the testing phase for the AJ II, Jordan wore a prototype that featured the upper of the original Air Jordan fused with the cushioning of the AJ II. The new edition included a full-length Air-Sole unit meant to add extra cushioning for Jordan’s sore feet. He only got to wear the AJ II for 18 games due to a broken foot.
• Air Jordan III | Designer : Tinker Hatfield | Released : 1988 | Original Price : $100
  Released in 1988, the rollout of the AJ III included TV spots featuring actor/director Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, from his 1986 film “She’s Gotta Have It” sparking a series of catch phrases heard ’round the sneaker world. Architect-turned-designer Tinker Hatfield took the lead on this, the first of more than two dozen Air Jordans he would go on to design. Hatfield sparked some style trends on the AJ III that have continued well into the 21st century. Most notably, he introduced elephant print overlays on the upper that have resurfaced periodically – in reissues of the AJ III as well as other Jordan models – ever since. Prior to the AJ III, basketball shoes were mostly just basketball shoes. Hatfield knew Jordan was into luxury and rolled that into the designs for Jordan’s signature shoes. While the Air Jordan II featured luxurious elements reflected in its Italian construction, Hatfield took this concept to a new level, even involving Jordan in the search for the right leathers to use on the shoe.