As seen on Unboxed Issue 52. The Unboxed newsletter covers the most important stories of the week across sneakers, sports, and fashion straight to your inbox on Mondays.
The Air Jordan 1 has been on a run like no other silhouette in history. For well over 5 years now, the Air Jordan 1 in all of its variations has recaptured the hearts and minds of sneakerheads, newcomers, and anyone wanting to look on trend. From classics to new stories being told on the one that started it all, the AJ1 is the shoe.
At this point, there are no limitations to the spin-off designs that the Air Jordan 1 can have and Jordan Brand is known for finding design inspiration in any story or trend. At first glance, the recently released “Prototype” AJ1 High looks like just another inline colorway loosely inspired by the Union AJ1 colorblocking. However, its design elements run deep. This AJ1 invites people to chop the top off if they prefer a lower cut by including cut guides on the upper. While the brand might not be outright with its inspiration, the look isn’t new as we’ve seen customizers and even seen Jordan Brand athletes like Chris Paul cut their AJ1 Highs into Lows. What was once a sneakerhead trend taking over the internet is now a real life release from the brand.
While imitation is a form of flattery, it’s evident that Jordan Brand has its ears and eyes on the streets as the latest AJ1 innovation probably came outside of Nike’s design kitchen. Or one could make the argument that this was a direct inspiration from Union. Either way, it’s exciting to see the brand think outside of the box and just when we think we don’t need anymore AJ1s, they introduce something newish.
Sign up for Unboxed here and join over 19,000 readers.
