How The Air Jordan 5 “Olive” Helped Introduce In A New Era Of Retros

Before there was a colorway to match every fit, sneakerheads could only dream about their favorite Air Jordan coming in their favorite color. This was an era where matching your kicks, apparel, and fitted hats was the biggest flex. In the 2000s, Jordan Brand expanded its palette, and collectors were suddenly being treated to new versions of their go-to kicks. And if you were an Air Jordan 5 lover whose favorite color happened to be green, it wasn’t until 2006 that you could enjoy the two together. In fact, no Air Jordans in any silhouette had been imagined in a green hue before 2004. The first of the green AJ5 versions was the “Green Bean” colorway, and the “Olive” followed a few months later.

The Olive colorway used a strategy that is commonplace today. It took inspiration from a collaboration and introduced it in a different way to a broader audience. The collaboration? The grail status Undefeated x Air Jordan 4 that came in an olive and orange makeup the year prior. If the chance to own an Olive Green Air Jordan for the first time wasn’t enough to convince you, then getting your hands on an Undeafted-inspired pair definitely was. Now, we see this release strategy from brands all the time. Just look at the popularity of 2020’s “Mocha” Air Jordan 1 High that followed the coveted Travis Scott x Air Jordan debut in 2019. 

Like many of the Lifestyle or LS drops that helped birth a new generation of sneakerheads in the late 2000s, the Olive Air Jordan 5 has reached its turn in the retro cycle. And despite lacking the mystique of Michael Jordan playing in them, they mean something to a generation that was too young to experience OG drops but had a hunger for kicks that would be the bridge between the classics and today’s Air Jordan catalog, where no color or material is off limits. Early reviews have credited Jordan Brand for delivering this retro with high-quality materials and a look and feel that takes us back to a time in sneakers when general releases were celebrated. They might not be part of MJ’s on-court legacy, but they represent an essential part of people’s collections and memories. Now, a new generation gets to see what that feels like. 

The Air Jordan 5 “Olive” releases on SNKRS on Saturday, March 2, at 10 AM EST.