Air Jordan 36: Weaving a Lighter Game Shoe
The Air Jordan 36 was officially unveiled by Jordan Brand today, but it already has an Olympic gold medal on its resume. Jayson Tatum wore the model, the latest from Michael Jordan’s multi-decade-spanning signature line, for this summer’s Tokyo Olympics—including during his 19-point and 7-rebound performance in USAB’s gold medal game.
For this latest entry of the game shoe, Tate Kuerbis, a 26-year Nike veteran, once again got the call to lead the team. The 36 marks the sixth-straight Air Jordan that Kuerbis has designed and his eighth overall. The shoe builds on a platform that began with the Air Jordan 34, and focuses on a theme of “light” this time around. The concept is multi-faceted, referring to both the shoe’s weight, and the fact that daylight can actually pass through it thanks to a new upper technology.
“The idea of taking back the courts, that’s been our big sole mission over the years,” Kuerbis says. “Looking back at it, the Air Jordan 34 was really the starting point of something new for the Jordan Brand and the Air Jordan.” That model introduced Eclipse Plate, a technology that built off the brand’s existing Flight Plate tech, aiming at maximizing the effectiveness of existing Zoom Air while also removing material from the shoe’s midsole. “When we moved on to the 36 we felt like if there was one thing we could do, we could really focus on creating one of the lightest weight Air Jordans we’ve ever done before.”
This weight reduction was led by Jordan Brand materials designer Jacqueline Lefferts, who brought an upper created using jacquard leno-weave. Lefferts obtained a master’s in textile design from the Royal College of Art in London and has been with Jordan Brand for four years. She’s touched nearly every performance silhouette the brand has produced in that period.
“When you look at [the 34], it is so light looking and lightweight, so we were like, ‘How do we make material that’s lighter than that?’” she explains. “Tate and I decided in order to do that we really needed a new method of making material and a new innovation.”
Lefferts says that weaving is an obscure thing to be obsessed with in the first place, “but even within the weaving world, leno-weave is a type of weaving that most weavers don’t even know about. In my last year of university I became really fascinated with it and explored and experimented for about a year.”
She explains that it’s a specialized technique that utilizes yarns that are twisted around themselves. “What that’s doing is creating these really open structures. Because it’s twisting, we’re able to remove a lot of yarn, and any time you take away material you’re making something lighter. But even though you’re removing yarn, it’s just as strong—if not stronger.”
The result was a material that came in at 33% lighter than the upper material used on the 34. It’s also extremely translucent and allows for color shifts based on the viewing angle.
On the cushioning front, Eclipse Plate is back on the 36, but has undergone an evolution.
“Going along with the lightweight story, we really wanted to reduce the material of the Eclipse Plate as much as possible, so we really focused the plate just in the arch, and we actually separated it into two different pieces,” says Kuerbis.
Despite being almost two decades removed from playing, this refinement to the cushioning came from a direct insight from Michael Jordan.
“He always challenges us to be low to the ground,” Chad Troyer, senior footwear product line manager for Jordan Brand, says. “You know he loves his sports cars, so he gives us lots of references there. One of the ways we were able to do that is by using this Zoom Strobel. It reduces layers, it gets your foot closer to the ground and closer to cushioning. We have the most exposure to Zoom, by a millimeter, that we’ve ever had in a game shoe.” A second Zoom bag in the forefoot adds an additional level of responsiveness once engaged with the Eclipse plate.
Historically, one of Jordan Brand’s best attributes when it comes to performance is not getting too cute when tried and true methodologies already exist. That ethos is especially important with a shoe’s traction and was carried into the pattern found on the 36. “Chad told me not to F it up,” Kuerbis laughs. “With this one we really didn’t overthink it. We were really just focused on creating the best. We know that herringbone traction, with our athletes, is the most preferred, so we went that route.”
As with many recent game shoes, there are nods to models from Jordan’s playing days “We like to give a little homage to legacy shoes of the past, especially the Air Jordan 6,” says Kuerbis, of the latest. The wing on the heel and lace cover are both derived from MJ’s first championship model. Even the outsole gets a functional tribute to the shoe, with a weight-reducing cutout coming in the shape of the Air Jordan 6 tongue’s iconic finger holes. A six-link chain graphic on the heel provides one final signature touch in honor of the Bulls legend’s gold necklaces and six championship rings.
The public got its first glimpse of the AJ36 this past May when Dallas Wings star Satou Sabally shared the “First Light” edition on her social media. The colorway will drop on September 2 and aims to showcase the shoe’s material and theme with a story on the spectrum of light, leading to a bold look with color shifting on full display. First up though is a white and gold edition, dubbed “Glory,” releasing today. The model retails for $185, and player exclusives will follow for Guo Ailun in China on August 17, Kia Nurse in EMEA and Canada on August 17, Jayson Tatum in North America on August 21, Rui Hachimura in APLA on August 22, and Luka Doncic in APLA and EMEA on September 4. Finally, a white/black/red Bulls-style colorway called “Psychic Energy” is scheduled to drop on September 16.
The Air Jordan 36 has high expectations, with the 34 and 35 both being heralded for their performance. It’s already passed the most important inspection. “I threw him the shoe and instantly it was like he couldn’t believe how light it was,” Kuerbis says, recalling Michael Jordan’s reaction to the new model. “And then he started looking at the material and I think he was fascinated by the material, the fact you could see through it, it looked rich, it looked super futuristic, super technical. I think that was probably one of the favorite things he was excited about.”