Introduction The Air Jordan 1 changed the sneaker industry by becoming the most popular silhouette of sneakers in the world and the reason that many enter the sneaker industry in the first place. The Air Jordan 1 is the most important model in the sneaker culture. From the original releases in 1985-86 to the numerous retro variations and colorways since.
What started as a basketball sneaker quickly crossed over into pop culture, then into fashion, then, years later, into high fashion. There's never been a more influential brand when it comes to footwear.
History of Air Jordan 1
The AJ1 was designed by Peter Moore following Michael Jordan’s signing to Nike in 1984. Michael Jordan only had but two requests when designing the sneaker with Moore...the shoe had to be lower cut than others and it also had to be exciting. What started the beginning to one of the most important footwear brands to date.
Everything always happens for a reason. Adidas, the shoe brand Jordan actually preferred, had to pass on signing him out of college. Converse already had established players Larry Bird and Magic Johnson;Nike had to be convinced to sign Michael Jordan who had just finished college.
On Oct. 18, 1984, Jordan became controversial as he played in the game vs. the Knicks wearing sneakers that were predominantly red and black. In 1984, there were certain uniform guidelines that had to be followed by all the players. For sneakers specifically, a player had to have shoes that matched those of his teammates and also contain 51 percent white.
Because the sneakers did not meet the uniform guideline, NBA executive VP Russ Granik made it so Jordan would not be able to wear those sneakers again.
The pair of sneakers that Jordan were banned were the Nike Air Ship.
Later down the line Jordan and Nike would fixed the color scheme to have more white to fit in with the NBA's rules. Jordan would wear the Air Jordan 1 "Banned" colorway at the 1985 dunk contest, with Nike's "Banned" ad campaign in full swing.
The first Jordan 1 that sneaker fans think of when they think of the Air Jordan 1 is the “Banned” colorway, also known as the “Bred” or Black and Red. The color way's name pays homage the the banned colors that Jordan was fined for wearing the year before.
Air Jordan 1 Models
The Air Jordan 1 has the most original colorways of any Air Jordan model. The three colors consist of the “Chicago”, “Bred”, and “Black Toes." These were the only ones you ever saw MJ wearing on court, but a plethora of other looks released including the Black/Royal, “Carolina”, and the many “Metallic” colorways.</