Iconic and Controversial - Nike Air Jordan 1

Shivaji Saha
Dec 18, 2017
2 min read

The Air Jordan 1 is the first shoe in the Jordan series and debuted in 1985. The shoe was hit with controversy at launch since it didn't adhere to the shoe color code of the NBA. Jordan was fined $5000 per game for wearing it on court. Nike turned this into an ingenious marketing campaign whose crux was, the NBA can ban them but they can stop you from wearing them. Hence some of the Jordan1s shoes come with the word ‘BANNED’ on them.The shoe is iconic and ranks high on the list of most coveted sneakers for collectors across the globe.

Similar to a lot of classic sneakers, the success of the shoe lies in its simplistic design and the story behind it. Coming to the shoe design, the upper of the shoe is entirely leather and the mid-sole is embedded with Air technology. It mostly comes in a 2-3 color combination, where the side panel, heel, toe, and tongue are covered in two colors and a white midsole. There are hundreds of AJ1 colorways so this isn't a foolproof check of authenticity but in most Jordan1s, this holds true. The logo used on the shoe is the Wings Logo, which was the original Air Jordan logo. This was replaced by the Jumpman in 1987. The Nike Swoosh on the shoe is the elongated one and not the short one used in most shoes these days. Some of the Jordan 1’s have a Jumpman at the back of the shoe, however, most don’t.

(Above- The Shoes above are Air Jordan 1 Olympic 2016)

Something which I have always found fascinating with the Jordan 1 is, in spite of the shoe being quite big in size and leather-based, it feels light on feet. For people who prefer to rock lighter versions, Nike in 2017, came up with a lot of Flyknit 1’s in retro OG colorways. The flyknit material doesn't crease so the shoe looks the same over a period of time but just be careful around sharp edges.

The Original colorway is the Jordan 1, Bred (Black, Red and white) is extremely tough to get a hold of and re-sellers charge around $400-$500 for a pair! But some of the general designs are readily found on the Nike.com and the eCommerce sites in the Rs.9000- Rs.12000 range. If you want to buy just one Jordan shoe and not go bankrupt, get yourself the Air Jordan 1.

(Below- Air Jordan 1 Bred Flyknit 2017)