Is the forgotten Jordan making a comeback?
When it comes to Jordans, its hard to decide what some ones top ten or top five would be, but with that being said the Air Jordan II is definitely not on a lot of peoples lists of their top Jordans. I don't blame them, to be honest when I was younger it took me a while to realise what the Air Jordan II even looked like
Overall I think the Jordan II is a very underrated crep in the original 14 releases, and quite unpopular to many 'sneakerheads' but with the Jordan II getting attention this year and the A ma Maniere Jordan II releasing this week, it only seems right to break down the rich history of the Air Jordan II and take a look as to why its considered the least popular Jordan.
Origins
Designed by both Bruce Kilgore, the original designer of the Air Force 1, and Peter Moore, the designer of the Air Jordan 1. Which now that I think about it, the Air Jordan II does kind of have its similarities to the Air Force 1 as the midsole thickness share a slight likeness.
Regardless, the Jordan II held held a hefty task of following up from its predecessor, the Jordan I, which sought to have a completely different approach to their marketing, which mainly had a more rebellious attitude, due to its 'banned' marketing strategy on the Air Jordan 1 Bred, in order to engage a younger target audience.
However, the Air Jordan II held more "sophisticated" approach, as the sneaker was made with the essence to look great on the court and to look good with a tuxedo.
With the model releasing November 1986, the Air Jordan II looked significantly different to its predecessor, as for one the Nike Air swoosh branding is not present on the side panels of the Jordan II, instead, its a minimal 'Nike' branding on the back tab of the shoe, while the 'Air Jordan Wings' logo replaced the Nike logo on the tongue.
Though the Jordan II held a minimal look the price wasn't so minimal, as from the Jordan 1s $65 to the $100 price tag of the Air Jordan II, as Nike aimed the shoe to be an exclusive sneaker with high quality materials.
The Jordan II featured a premium leather upper for superior support and comfort with no break in time required. The upper also sported a faux-iguana skin for added elegance. Adding to the exclusive feel was the fact that the Air Jordan II was made in Italy and limited to only 30 stores.
The Air Jordan II also came in two forms the low cut version and a high top version.
Early Models
With the Air Jordan I doing remarkably well when it first debuted and taking clear off with the 'banned' Bred colourway commercial, it seemed impossible for the Jordan II to match up to the heights of the Jordan I, as it was only limited to two colourways, a home and away colourway, whereas the Jordan 1 had released with 20 colourways.
It was clear that Bruce Kilgore and Peter Moore had tough assignment to follow up from their previous model, due to Jordan favouring the minimum low profile Jordan 1.
So Peter Moore and Bruce Kilgore experimented with adding the new Air Jordan II midsole with a Jordan I upper, which was basically a hybrid Jordan wore when he came back from injury in April 1986.
The Jordan II midsole was different to its predecessor in that it now featured an encapsulated non visible Nike air unit, along with an open cell Polyurethane midsole as opposed to the Jordan I minimal rubber midsole, offering better impact protection for MJ's explosive dunks and sharp cuts to the rim.
Besides the Hybrid Jordan I, the Jordan II had numerous prototypes, one of the early versions would be a low cut all white sneaker which would eventually be worn by the Chicago bulls cheerleaders.
Overall when the Jordan II came out, it offered a better cushioning system than that of the Jordan I and had better materials by gracing a faux iguana upper.
It wouldn't be no surprise that MJ completely balled out in his second year rocking the AJ2, as in his first game in Madison Square Garden he dropped a 50 piece against the New York Knicks and by the end of the season earned his first ever scoring title.
Why is the Jordan II not that popular??
Surely after an amazing historic second season, you'd think that people would like to "be like Mike" and buy some Jordan II's, but this wasn't necessarily the case.
When the Jordan II landed in retail with it's hefty price tag, it scared off a lot of fans of Jordan, sure fans wanted to be like Jordan, but they didn't have money like Jordan. Think about it $100 back in1986 is now equivalent to $263.79, so your basically spending double that of a Jordan retail price, seems reasonable why others wouldn't want to cop a sneaker worth that much at retail.
Furthermore, the Jordan II just didn't have as much marketing power, at least in my opinion. When you think of the Jordan I you think controversial banned Bred Jordan 1s and the iconic Nike commercial, along with the slam dunk contest. The Air Jordan II not so much, it aimed for a 'sophisticated' approach to its marketing, which wasn't bad but its common sense that controversy sells more.
A comeback ?
With that being said, the Air Jordan II seems to be making a comeback onto making a presence in the modern sneaker game, there's no secret that the Jordan II has been featured in a few high profile collabs such as Union, Off White and now A Ma Maniere.
This is going to be interesting as will people now start to pay attention to the Air Jordan II or will it still stay in the shadows of its predecessors and successors?
Let me know what you guys think of the Jordan II and are you guys excited at the Jordan IIs revival?
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