Jordan Shifts to Fashion Culture
In the midst of the television series documentary "The Last Dance" We are reminded of how great and influential one person can be in one sport/activity, but for an individual not only transform a game but to also transform a previously unrelated medium(fashion) simultaneously while creating a bridge to bring that will begin to merge the two together and push fashion itself to a level is unheard of, and only something that can be realized through hindsight!
The Jordan 1s, released September 15th, 1984, are easily understood throughout all genres as now, the most classic and versatile sneaker there is. No other shoe can or transitions cultures of street style, skate, active basketball activity, and high fashion.
Prior to the Air Jordan 1 not only had no other NBA player had their own signature shoe, but no other NBA player had also been paid over 100,000 in a shoe contract.
The rhetoric fueled by the AJ1's in the 80s was heavy as statements like alike "Nike has lost its way giving an NBA Rookie such a deal" to "placing a black man as the face of your company is destined failure". All trials of the time (the 80s), all which have been vastly outperformed as 36 years later it can easily be stated as the shoe that changed the world. Converse was the traditional most common basketball shoe of the time, sporting a plain white base with a team color-coordinated highlight strip amongst all NBA players, the AJ1's dynamic contrasting Chicago themed black and red bold colorway made it distinctively apparent the moment you step foot on the court, this was something new, different and never before seen.
No one had ever taken a team player and transformed them into a personality with marketing potential all in one, and being a young 19/20-year-old kid his style was of the moment and highly separated him from many of the other players in the NBA, creating an attraction that resonating with younger fans who were use to seeing much more mature and traditional basketball player image and fashion like suits.
That statement began the catapult to spark the tsunami that the Air Jordan 1s have had on fashion and weather the test of time in the various fashion eras and culture that is so traditionally uninterested and on to the next thing! The resonating cultural that the AJ1s embodied has pushed these sneakers and sneaker brand into a lifestyle statement piece that very few if any brands ever reach themselves, and really beyond lifestyle as it in itself IS culture.
Through the legendary story that has now become like folklore the (suggested) ban of the 1984, Jordan 1s connected and resonated with the anti-establishment, rebellious, counter-culture underlying tone of the country for not only black kids but for many white kids alike.
From opening the door of the NBA for later players(like Russel Westbrook) to sport their own fashion identities as professional athletes to becoming a foundational piece of urban culture through hip-hop(LL cool J Radio Album), film(Spike Lee She's gotta have it), Art and skate culture(The search for Animal Chin), to a pop trend statement that non-urban kids could feel apart of and share in as their too favorite athlete flew through the air on Television. In its 30+ year history, the color coordination opportunities the AJ1's has offered has allowed a unique coordination that spans any aspect of fashion(low to high), and the range that it connects to everyone. The change of perspective it has offered and created on how you can wear clothes and how designers began to taper a pant to show off the shoes/sneakers because of the growth in sneaker culture, and unlike converse, an its synonym to anti-fashion the AJ1 became pure fashion.
AJ1 is the symbol that represents greatness for the greatest player that has ever played the game of basketball.