Complex Media - Complex Presents Sneaker of the Year

by Marc Eck

by Marc Eck

On the surface, the Air Jordan, Michael Jordans inaugural signature model, was a commercial vehicle for fans to connect to the talent whose name the sneaker bore. But the 1985 release wasnt a land-mark thanks only to Jordans play, Nikes design, or the colors it wore. It changed an entire industry because, unlike any shoe that preceded it, it proposed sport as culture, with Jordan as the symbol of this convergence. The silhouette quickly moved beyond basketball, immortalizing the player and creating a new, wildly lucrative lane for companies and athletes alike.

In the thirty-five years that followed, brands would repeat this formula hundreds of times, often to great success. But something else happened: the players who attached their names to iconic sneakers became icons themselves, figures whose personalities could shape multinational companies from the boardroom down. Jordanand Charles Barkley, and Allen Iverson, and dozens morerose to a level that had once been off limits to athletes.

At the same time, for people like me, sneakers offered a gateway to a career in design. And for streetwear designers who collaborated with brands like Nike and Adidas on high-profile releases, they became a path to mainstream legitimacy, a Trojan horse that carried creators like Virgil Abloh from an overlooked corner of the exclusionary fashion industry to runways at Paris Fashion Week.

What began with Jordan wearing a pair of sneakers culminated in a moment of economic and social justice. Its a power shift we have never seen in any industryand something we may not witness again.

Sneakers predate the 80s, but the sneaker landscape as we know it today can be traced to one year: 1985. It was then that Nike released Michael Jordans debut signature model and, as a result, surged past rivals like Adidas and Reebok to lead in the sports-footwear arms race. Those sneaker wars set the stage for modern sneaker culture. While there were signature models well beforefor athletes like Jack Purcell and Stan Smithit wasnt until that first Air Jordan that brands realized how much a line based around a singular star could capture imaginations and spike earnings. And while there had been other footwear designers, it wasnt until Nike architect Tinker Hatfield started sketching sneakers around 1985 that the companys products were seen as functional pieces of art. This isnt quite where it all started, but its where it all started to make sense.

by Drew Hammell

Nike couldnt have come up with a better marketing strategy if it had tried. When the Beaverton, Oregonbased sneaker company launched the Air Jordan 1, it changed footwear. The man promoting it, Michael Jordan, was mesmerizing, both on the court and off. And the NBA banned one of the colorways, a combination of black and red sitting atop a white midsole, which drew more attention to the sneaker, upping the intrigue around and demand for a $65 basketball shoe. That model launched what is now a multibillion-dollar business for Nike and Jordan Brand and marked the dawn of contemporary sneaker culture. Never had the world become so enamored of an athlete and the shoes on his feet. For anyone who collects sneakers, the Air Jordan 1 is an absolute must-haveboth to wear and to hold. Year after year, Jordan Brand drops both new and original colorways, and they sell out every time. It is a sneaker that has become timeless, a shoe that transcends fashion and looks good no matter what is currently trending. It was air personified, and the story behind the AJ 1 is as deep and complex as the man himself.

It begins at the 1984 NBA Draft, when the lowly Chicago Bulls selected Michael Jordan with the third overall pick. To say the Bulls were lucky to grab Jordan with that pick is one of the biggest understatements ever. The NBA was a big-mans league back in the 80s, so players like Hakeem Olajuwon and Sam Bowie went before Jordan, mainly because teams prioritized centers above guards. Though Jordan wasnt the first pick, the Bulls were confident in his abilities and signed him to a seven-year, $6 million dealthe third-highest contract in league history at the time, behind Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. The Blazers, who had the chance of a lifetime to draft Jordan, needed a center. It didnt make sense to them to pick the 6'6" Jordan when a big man was more of a priority. So you play him at center! former Team USA coach Bobby Knight once famously quipped.

After the draft, the race was on for the top sneaker brands to sign the Bulls flashy new star. Nike was the top contender, though there was plenty of opportunity for Adidas and Converse to move ahead as well. On Nikes side, several key figures heavily influenced Jordans decision to sign with the brand. Sonny Vaccaro was one of them; Vaccaro made a name for himself in the college basketball world by convincing coaches to ink deals with Nike so that big-market teams would wear the brands sneakers and apparel on national TV. For a period, Vaccaros advice was gospel for Nike, and he was all in on it signing Jordan. One of Nikes creative directors at the time was Peter Moore, who led the design of the first Air Jordan sneaker and the Wings logo. If you notice similarities between the Air Jordan 1 and the Nike Dunk, its because Moore led the design of that, too. Jordans agent, David Falk, was a brilliant negotiator and made sure Jordan was getting the best deal. Another key figure in the Nike deal was Donald Dell, who was the president of ProServ. ProServ was a sports management firm that Nike worked with for the Air Jordan line initially.

Jordan was the real deal, but nobody knew for sure how great he would really become. Falk was confident and demanded a high price for whoever wanted to sign the prized guard. Nike certainly didnt have the deal in the bag at first, since Jordan was a big fan of Adidas (he loved the way the leather was broken in right out of the box). Jordan was ready to sign with Adidas, but Nikes team was more prepared and saw the huge potential of signing him. Converse certainly wanted to add Jordan to its strong arsenal of stars, which included Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. But Converse wanted to market Jordan alongside Bird and Magic, not set him apart. Nikes commitment to Jordan went so far that it even created a sneaker just for him, which was not common back in the 80s for basketball players. Only a chosen few athletes in any sport had their own sneaker, so the fact that Nike was willing to make one for a player who hadnt even stepped on a professional court yet proved how much it was willing to invest in the star.

Nikes connection with ProServ and Donald Dell was important because Dell was a professional tennis player; back then, tennis players were marketed more strongly than basketball players. For example, Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith both benefited from Dells promotional prowess. Dell wanted to showcase Jordan in a similar fashion. Along with this approach came the signature sneaker Nike created for Jordana sneaker tailored just to him, down to a size 131/2 for his right foot and a size 13 for his left. Nike and Dell threw around names for the shoe before they met with Jordan; one possibility was the Prime Time. Obviously that name didnt work out, and the group agreed that Air Jordan was the best option.