“Some people deserve special treatment,” began Jordan Brand Magazine in their Winter ‘04 spread showcasing 2005’s “Altitude” Air Jordan 13. “This special AJ13 is a part of our special Lifestyle offering that includes special Lifestyle apparel as well. You won’t believe how sweet the hook ups are. If you’re on top of your game, you’ll know the exclusive spots, as to where these ‘hot joints’ can be found.”
Years before “Lifestyle” was a word that preceded ‘blogging,’ it was the term Jordan Brand used to denote the often loud and sometimes lavish launches that signaled the brand’s official foray in fashion.
Beginning in 2004, Jordan Brand’s journey to be both a legacy brand and one of the youth became more fragmented by way of segmented releases. In a pre-clout era, Jordan Brand started defining various launches as ‘general release,’ ‘limited release,’ ‘online exclusive,’ ‘regional release,’ ‘quickstrike release’ and last but not least, ‘lifestyle release.’
Lifestyle releases, simplified in tagging as LS or L’Style, were unique launches that were allocated to what was then called Urban Accounts. The LS launches were often distinguished by off-kilter colorways and matching apparel that was premium in pricing and only sold at select stores. When digging deep in references like Sneaker Files, April 2004’s “Melo” Air Jordan 2 is early on a list of LS launches from Jordan Brand — a pivotal pair sold only at lucky locales.
Meant to market hype and exclusivity in the days before blogs and social media, frenzied fans of forums scoured their sources as a way to chase down limited LS launches like the “Melo” 2. Conversely, those same fans were fine turning a blind eye to some of the L’Style successors.
Months after Melo’s PE turned LS launch, the Air Jordan 19 Low “Light Graphite,” “Obsidian Vapor” and “Dark Cinder” all hit Urban Accounts in the fourth quarter of 2004. Suede makeovers in casual colorways meant to be worn with loungewear were somewhat spiritual successors to that of the “Chutney” 13 Lows or “Ginger” 14 Lows. Nevertheless, they were launched differently, all playing to the fashion-forward casual crossover of the Air Jordan line that meant much more now that the namesake figure was officially retired from the game of basketball.
Over the course of the mid-2000s, the LS line would grow by way of “Chartreuse” color stories on the Air Jordan 14, “Do the Right Thing” inspired Air Jordan 3s, “Pea Pod” Air Jordan 8s, “Lightning” Air Jordan 4s and “Linen” Air Jordan 10s.
Differentiating between a GR and LS during that time would all come down to allocations as loud launches like the “Green Bean” 5s would be made for the masses while sporty styles like the “Ice Blue” 10s would wear LS tagging, earning their stripes in the NCAA Tournament but only sold at revered retailers.
When looking back at L’Style segmenting, was this all an early example of brands telling us what was cool or rather responses to market research that only the professionals would understand?
It was unclear then and it still is today. What is clear is that the L’Style line was Jordan Brand’s decided decision to youthen their brand and expand their apparel.
When looking at LS apparel, JB was throwing darts at the changing trends in hip hop fashion and the blender look we now know as streetwear. Premium painted t-shirts played to the popularity of Miskeen while graphic-heavy hoodies likened that of LRG. Archival classics like Flight Jackets would be reimagined in baggier cuts and louder colorways as would the famous Playground tee alongside nods to ‘94 retro merch.
At the time, sneakerheads weren’t really ready for this.
Loud colors on old favorites proved polarizing when entering the millennium and still took time to become accepted. From a fashion standpoint, your average collector would rather rock their retros with a Kirkland tall tee, matching Ralph Lauren or the actual streetwear labels JB was riffing off.
Even more so, store owners would feel the wrath of both having and not having the L’Style heat. For mom and pop shops not deemed an Urban Account, their allocations were suddenly the same as Foot Locker locations minus the amount. For those lucky enough to get LS launches, they were often flooded in apparel due to Jordan Brand’s leverage and dreams of being seen as a viable clothing company.
While colorways from the LS line at that time were often imaginative, much of the matching merch was not, often having the shoe of the season plastered on a tee or a jacket. This was already hard to sell to the customer who just bought the kicks for $150 plus tax, but try shelling out that same piece to someone who doesn’t even have that shoe painted across the outerwear.
Right or wrong, Lifestyle Jordans were still speaking to the changing times in culture from the shades they showcased to where they could be purchased. Always ahead of the curve when it came to campaigns, Jordan Brand athletes like Josh Howard and Carmelo Anthony could be seen modeling LS shoes and gear in the pages of hip hop and sports magazines.
Meshing the worlds of sport, fashion and music was really where L’Style proved on the money of where style was going. Though old heads may have been off them, the flipped favorites would make sense for an increasingly online rap audience that was well versed on Kanye West cutting up soul samples but still curious to hear Lupe Fiasco rhyme over a Gorillaz instrumental. By the late ‘00s, LS Jordans were on time for a new generation seeking their own expression on the older era’s Airs.
So, L’Style was definitely an experiment. However, was it a hit internally?
“I’m actually shocked at some of the lifestyle ones that came out that worked,” Jordan Brand Category Directory Gentry Humphrey admitted to Nick DePaula and Steve Mullholand for a Sole Collector story in 2008. “The lifestyle one that really jumps out to me is the Black/Altitude Green 13 that we did. People were freaking out over them and that one was pretty crazy. Some of the ones, I never would’ve done, like the Burgundy/Grey 5. Those I never would’ve done. But those, I call them ‘shoeman’s shoes.’ They’re for guys who really have a lot of shoes and can afford to rock them once in a while and then tuck them away.”
With the boom of blogs and social clout, brands would reimagine why people bought sneakers and also where they bought them. In the mid-2000s, LS Air Jordans were almost solely sold in Urban Accounts. By the mid-2010s, the word ‘Urban’ would see its definition stretched from marginalized means of labeling African American arts to a purveyor of faux-vintage and tight jeans when placed before ‘Outfitters.’
In the same span, the place to buy limited Air Jordan launches would shift from mom-and-pop city stores to manicured menswear destinations to aftermarket consignment shops. Sadly, many of the ‘Hot Spots’ listed in Jordan Brand Magazine that sold L’Style launches in the 2000s went under due to the recession and a shift in buyer behavior.
From forced fashion attempts to campers calling it quits due to the hysteria surrounding 2005’s “Altitude” Air Jordan 13 release, the LS line would not be without controversy. Just the same, it wouldn’t be without impact as LS tagging paved the way for the collaborative colorways we see today, led to eventually elevated apparel for Jordan Brand, and introduced imaginative shoes that were once rarities that now appear as palatable for a mass market.
In 2021, there’s no better example of the LS line than the Air Jordan 3 “Cool Grey” set to launch as a general release. Appealing to customers who couldn’t score the first run back in 2007 and even those who weren’t yet alive in 2007, these shoes are slated to hit all sorts of stores and do so without the extra add-ons.
Sure, made-to-match t-shirts and hoodies are already available on Eastbay, but they’ve learned from previous mistakes. Instead of copying current streetwear, they’re hitting on heritage and not stamping a shoe on the shirt.
This is much more mature than the aspirational swipes at streetwear or too on the nose pieces seen 15 years ago. Even better, this “Cool Grey” launch sees remastered retro quality and full family sizing, a major upgrade from the quality control issues that plagued pairs launched in the mid to late 2000s.
What was once odd, hard to get or even hard to understand is now the new normal. Jordan retros now outfit every walk of life in color codes far removed from that of MJ’s Chicago shades. Yes, the L’Style line had major misses like the “Laser” XVs, “Sport Red” 1s, “Plaid” Fusion 5s. Even worse, it prompted forced buy-ins for boutiques that sometimes saw apparel allocations that were unfair. Still, the growing pains of Jordan Brand in their 20s was like any individual at the same age: an era of experimentation, exploration, new learnings, and many mistakes.
The “Cool Grey” 3s are the first LS launch to return in the 2020s and if fans have it their way more will surely come. From the “Chambray” Air Jordan 7s to the “Lightning” Air Jordan 4s, there’s plenty of heat from Jordan Brand’s first foray in fashion that wasn’t perfect but paved the way for where we are today.
Images via Nike, Sneaker Files, Flight Club, StockX, Stadium Goods, Zimbio, Kicks on Fire & Pinterest