Finally...
There's certain creps that everyone has at the top of their list and this one is going to be at the top of a lot of peoples lists.
The Air Jordan 1 is by far one of the biggest creps in sneaker history, I could say that if it weren't for the Michael Jordan's greatness and the Jordan 1, the sneaker culture wouldn't be as big as it is now. That's because the Jordan 1 has been a crep that is so simple and versatile that you almost can't go wrong pulling off a fit with the Jordan 1, as we're starting to see people with bootcut baggy jeans still manage to pull off wearing Jordan 1s.
In todays issue of CrepTalk we dive deep into the history of the Jordan 1.
Near Miss
It was June 19th 1984 when Michael Jordan was drafted to the Chicago Bulls, it was from then, that history would be made in both sports and sneakers.
As Jordan had reluctantly signed a brand new endorsement deal with Nike, It was only by the persuasion of his mother Deloris Jordan who persuaded Michael to go see the representatives of Nike regarding his sneaker deal.
Originally Michaels first choice was to sign with Converse or Adidas, as in his college days at North Carolina MJ favoured Converse sneakers due to their lightweight capabilities and rubber outsole, and at the time Jordan wasn't pleased with what Nike had to offer.
This is mainly because of the thick air soles Nike had provided in there footwear, as he thought the air soles were to have been too thick for him to have the best court feel.
Knowing how Jordan plays it does seem that he would need to feel the court under his feet to get maximum bounce.
Knowing this, Nike threw everything at Jordan, until they reached a settlement, in which they would give Jordan his own brand and make him the face of that brand. Jordan reluctantly agreed to the deal, and just like that history was made and the Air Jordan 1 was produced.
1985
With the partnership between Nike and Jordan beginning, Nike made sure to make the perfect shoe for MJ, as they did not want that man leaving at all. Peter Moore, the man behind the Air force 1, was tasked with designing the Jordan 1 but with Mike's direction and vision. This wasn't the most easiest task, as Jordan came with a lot of expectations and demands to make sure the shoe was to cate to his needs.
The most significant change was almost removing all of the air cushioning from the insole of the shoe to have a lower court feel for MJ to be more explosive, making it as low to the ground as possible.
Peter Moore had come up with a unique colour scheme for the shoe, which featured a mostly black upper with a red trim line and Nike swoosh. The Jordan 1 was to feature lightweight premium leather, overall this shoe was specifically meant to closely resemble that of a Converse Chuck Taylor in which Jordan favoured soo much.
This was definitely going to win Jordan over. However there was one problem, the initial colours, namely the Black and Red (Bred) were not really like by Jordan as he said they look like the devil.
Nike Airship
A lot of people don't actually know that the Air Jordan 1 wasn't actually worn until the tail end of Jordan's rookie year, it was actually the Nike Airship that was worn as the Jordan 1 would come to light in the playoffs.
So in essence, it wasn't the Jordan 1 that was banned for using black and red colourways, to be honest there was no ban nor fines just a letter giving an official warning. Back then the NBA had a rule in which the team colours should take up only 49% of the players shoes whilst the rest should only be white. Now with the colourway like the black and red Nike Airship this was for sure to break the rules of NBA regulations.
This was a great opportunity for Nike to finally market the Jordan 1 with the narrative of Michael not being allowed to wear those creps. This created the hype for the 'Banned' or 'Bred' Jordan 1. This created an interest for a younger more rebellious audience that could identify with the marketing as going against the grain with style and greatness like Mike.
Its weird to think or even say that back then the Air Jordan1 wasn't as popular as people thought as much, mainly because of the $65 price tag which in todays rate goes to about $170, and remember even though Jordan was great he was still a rookie, competing with superstars like Dr J, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird who all had a sneaker deal at the time. Still though, nothing could stop MJ from creating momentous events in his career to make the Jordan 1 greater, such as the 1985 slam Dunk Contest which solidified MJ and Jordan 1 as one of upcoming stars.
The OG's
The Jordan 1 just didn't come out with two colourways, it was initially released with 13 colourways which includes
"Royal”
“Black Toe”
“Shadow”
“Carolina Blue”
as well as Black & White, Blue & White, Metallic Red, Metallic Purple, Metallic Blue, Metallic Green, and Natural Grey.
The fact that the Jordan 1 first came out with 13 colourways just solidifies the creative versatility of Peter Moore's design as each colourway is just as good as each other obviously not the Chicago 1 or the Breds they built different.
Present Day 1s
Fast forward to present day 2022 and now people are going crazy for a retro high Jordan 1, to be honest it doesn't even have to be a retro colourway anymore, it could just be a mid and it'll still fly off the shelves just as quick.
With the Chicago 1 coming out in winter 2022, we can only imagine what type of hype it will garner as the classic retro has only been released 3 times and hasn't hit stores since 2015.
It'll be interesting to see who gets a pair for retail and who's gonna have to sacrifice their rent for some drip because they bought resell.
I don't know about y'all but as long as I got my black AF1s on deck I'm leaving with something.
There you have it, the rich history of the Air Jordan 1, and how it became from Mikes least to one of he's liked sneakers.
Comment down below what you like about the Jordan 1 and what is your favourite colourway.
Comentarios