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[sneakermuseum-blog]

FROM THE VAULT 

Air Jordan III

'Gotta Be the Shoes'

Continuing to revolutionize the worlds of sport and fashion, former architect turned designer, Tinker Hatfield, took to the drawing board. Unique in all aspects, the AJ III was bound for success.

This design bought forth many firsts for the athletic shoe industry, now some of which we see on a day to day basis incorporated into various shoes. New to the game was a mid cut silhouette along with the visible air unit that created an effect of 'walking on air' like the man himself, as seen in the Jumpman logo.

The Jumpan logo was first integrated into this model, taking the place of the famous Air Jordan 'Wings' logo on the tongue of the shoe. Correspondingly, Tinker took a different approach on the use of materials. Again for the first time, he inaugurated faux elephant print which was featured on the heel and toe cap, complimenting the full-grain tumbled leather upper. In addition, Hatfield made changes suitable to MJ's needs on game day. In order to avoid stiffness and uncomfortability, the tumbled leather was constructed to provide a broken in feeling. Polyurethane crafted the midsole adding to the already sleek construction.

The III's released during Jordan's fourth NBA season in 1988. The Jumpman logo was an instant hit.  In collaboration, Mike's on court accomplishments soared. He earned his fourth consecutive All-Star game appearance where he was awarded MVP, averaged 35 PPG during the season and took home his second consecutive Slam Dunk title. Furthermore, he scored Denfensive Player of the Year, league MVP and lastly, the league scoring title. 

In the mist of jordan creating a legacy on the court, he took to the media to further push his product. Nike, MJ and well known director/writer/actor, Spike Lee, teamed up to create one of the most revolutionary AJ commercials. 

The AJ III first retroed in 1994 with 'Nike Air' on the heel for the last time. In 2001, JB brought the shoe back featuring the Jumpman logo on the heel in 4 color ways, 3 of which were original. 

Jordan and Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee) helped make the AJ III one of the most sought after, popular shoes of the entire Jordan series to date.  

Look out for the next retro, the 'Infrared23', hitting stores on March 8th.

[sneakermuseum-blog]

FROM THE VAULT

Air Jordan II- "Italian Stalion" 

Bruce Kilgore, designer of the classic Nike Air Force 1, took to the drawing board for his next project, the Air Jordan II. Best known for its luxurious Italian workmanship, the AJ II was released during the 1986/1987 NBA season. Following the hype stemming from Peter Moore's Air Jordan I, Bruce knew he had huge shoes to fill.

Catering to MJ's broken foot (for which he sat out most of the season) a full length air unit was used in the midsole as well as a plastic heel counter, in conjunction with a higher cut silhouette for ankle support. In opposition to all Nike releases up until that point, the iconic Nike swoosh was eliminated from this particular design-- Instead, decorating the upper with white faux lizard skin, leather and the Air Jordan Wings logo inscribed on each tongue. Crafted in Italy, these shoes conjoined the world's of sport and fashion for the first time-- Again setting Jordan apart from his comrades. 

Due to his injury, Jordan only wore his AJ II's in eighteen games. Nevertheless, he locked down a spot on the NBA All Star team, was named 1st team All NBA, scored an average of 37.1 PPG and won his first slam dunk contest wearing the "Italian Stalion's". Furthermore, MJ tallied 61 points against the Hawks and went 9 straight games scoring 40 points, earning him his first scoring title-- Joining Wilt Chamberlain in topping 3,000 points in a single season. 

The AJ 2 retroed in both 1994 and 1995 but similar to that of the Air Jordan 1, it was unsuccessful. In 2004, the shoe retroed once more in its original color way and this time avoided sale racks. Nike, that same year, for the first time produced and sold P.E.'s (Player Edition's) to the masses. Those like the Melo Jordan AJ 2, sold out on opening day.

Look out for the next retro of the Air Jordan II in April later this year. Stay tuned for more release information. 

[sneakermuseum-blog]

Air Jordan X -- "The Legacy Continues" The come back kicks. Michael Jordan retired before his Air Jordan 9 model had a chance to release. Although, the NBA retired his jersey with one of the most influential sequences of numbers across the front (23), his signature line of shoes continued to release. Fans began to see the rereleases of the AJ1, AJ2 and AJ3, reflecting Jordan's early career in the NBA. The Air Jordan X was created in a celebratory fashion by Tinker Hatfield, listing MJ's accomplishments and awards vertically across the soles from year 1985 to 1994. The shoe also included design aspects from older models like the AJ3's and AJ6's. Soon after, Jordan shocked the world of sports by rejoining the NBA. He stepped foot back on the court on March 19 of 1995, after a strike consumed the baseball league. Jordan entered the league wearing #45, as a member of the Chicago Bulls once again. This lead to the production of P.E. samples with the notable 45 stitched into the side panels. Upon release, there was a regional team pack featuring color ways for the Bulls, Magic, Kings and the Supersonics as well as three additional models and a pair of cleats. All were priced at a slim $125 USD. May 3rd of 2005 marked the day Nike released their first Air Jordan X retros. Rolling up on almost 10 years since its last public appearance, it became the oldest retroed silhouette in the Jordan line and retailed at its original price of 125 bucks.