If you can't imagine basketball or streetwear history without picturing these Air Jordan 1 colorways, you're not alone.
When the Air Jordan 1 stormed the court nearly 40 years ago.
to go in 1985, it marked a pivotal switch in sneaker history.
Today's year, Jordan One, however, emerged in 1994 and is different from the retro 1985 model.
So what's the difference and why does it matter?
Behind the hype, Air Jordan won 85 high.
Michael Jordan has just been selected as a third overall pick in the NBA draft, landing the 21 year old with the Chicago Bulls.
The season was yet to begin when Nike met with Jordan to spin a deal, one that ultimately a signature Michael Jordan shoe line.
At that time, the promise of a custom line was unprecedented in brand-athlete partnerships.
The shoe's premium leather offers superseded the bar for athletic footwear at the time.
It was also marked with the inaugural wings logo and debuted in three colorways, the Chicago, the Royal, and the Bread, the Airdroden 1-85.
Five High is the only Air Jordan to feature both the Jordan Wings logo and the Nike Swoosh.
It retailed for a then unheard of $65 USD.
Nike refined the Air Jordan 1 to its modern form in 1994, retrowing the 1985 model.
Any re-edition of the original silhouette now circulates under a new title.
The modern air Jordan one we know today has a few key differences in both construction and materials.
This newer air Jordan one is wider with a shorter nylon tongue and slimmer logo text.
While the 85 high bears a narrower toe box, higher mud guard, longer canvas tongue and sits higher on the angle.
that the NBA wouldn't let you wear.
Now why wouldn't they let you wear it?
Just it's ugly like this.
The rise of the Air Jordan 185 high was also hugely important to the birth of the Japanese fashion scene in Yerahara.
Short for Yerahara Juku, the term literally means in Harajuku.
An area of approximately 4 square blocks between Tokyo's Harajuku and Aoyama districts, often credited with creating modern-day Japanese street wear.
At the same time, this culture was bubbling up.
Japan was the biggest market for Nike products outside of America, and the Nike team took notice.
the Japanese market in the 1980s was not only hungry for Nike basketball shoes,
they were also known for their appreciation of unique and bold designs.
So Nike realized they were the perfect market to expand the Air Jordan 1 business to a broader audience.
While some of the most iconic OG colorways were inspired by the Chicago Bulls, Nike also released non-bulls colorways through the 1980s.
The series included navy,
red, kelly green, orange, purple, burgundy, and black, all atop a crisp white leather base that was even higher quality than other air-driven ones of
The metallic series were also produced in much smaller quantities than the other original options,
making them both far harder to find and significantly more expensive on the burgeoning resale market.
But most importantly, they gave Nike a way to market Jordans to American college basketball teams that had different trademark colors than the Chicago Bulls.
As the year-old one continues to make its presence felt,
celebration of the created creatives and visionaries employed silhouette as a medium for boundary pushing design.
Virtual Ablows deconstructed off-white, air-driven 1-high Chicago achieved cult status.
Whether it be the Jordan 1 that I released three years ago, I'm designing not with just lines and fabric material.
recalling an emotion of these 90s bold and Jordan himself.
The that he put his style together was formally like a first sort of like fashion icon for me.
Travis Scott lent his backwards swoosh motif to the Air Jordan one high and again later with a fragment collaboration.
In 2020, the sneaker reached even higher heights with the birth of the Dior Air Jordan 1 collab.
This model not only bridged the world of sneakers in high fashion,
but also quickly reached prices over 12,000 US dollars on the resale market.
In the wake of Jordan Brand's 40th anniversary, the 1985 metallic series returned.
with the release of the Air Jordan 85 metallic burgundy, commemorating the metallic series footprint and street wear culture.
The shoes are a stitch for stitch recreation of the coveted 1985 release from skate parks to runways to basketball courts everywhere.
The Air Jordan 1 and the 85 high that inspired it are here to stay.
Behind the height, Air Jordan 185 high.
