RISE OF AIR JORDAN

When you think of Sneakers or Streetwear you have one man to thank for them, number 23, Michael Jordan, the king of basketball or shall I say modern-day sneaker culture. If he hadn't been born, we would be here wearing loafers and sandals. Modern-day sneaker culture has its roots since the first Air Jordan 1 was released in 1985. Before Air Jordan, Converse was the top brand in the sneaker industry. Converse came only in solid colors which were either all black or all white but 1985 marked the turning point of the industry. It was the year when Nike teamed up with the most talented NBA player and with that collaboration, they released the first Air Jordan 1, definitely the most iconic sneaker release in the world. But many of us don’t know the reality. Michael Jordan laughed at the initial Air Jordan silhouette and almost skipped out on the first meeting with Nike. Michael Jordan’s mother, Delores was part of a family of former North Carolina sharecroppers who strongly believed in economic empowerment and insisted he attend the meeting with Nike. At that time Nike

was so confident in Air Jordan that it would wind up throwing virtually all

its shoe marketing money behind Air Jordan. The NBA actually banned the original Air Jordan for not meeting its stringent league policy for uniform colors.

Michael Jordan wore them anyway and faced a whopping $5,000 per game fine as a result, recognizing the unique marketing opportunity being presented, Nike happily paid the fine and MJ rocked them all the way to his Rookie of the Year honor. Nike and subsequently the Jordan Brand have honored this iconic silhouette numerous times since the release of the retro one to this day.