The Mighty 15: Air Jordan VI

The Mighty 15:
Air Jordan VI

In 1991 Tinker Hatfield decided to start from scratch with the upcoming 6th shoe in the Air Jordan line.  The Air Jordan VI was born from these concept sessions with a brand new look to bring to the Air Jordan line. Gone were the mesh mids and and plastic heel cups.  The new Air Jordan VI was the first in the line to bring a sculpted midsole with a visible Air unit and a design to abstractly feature the number 23.

The Air Jordan 6 launched in 3 colorways, the one above featuring a rich suede material while the others made of a mix of leather and suede. The Air Jordan VI also incorporated a rubber tongue and a clean toe cap with Air Jordan V lace locks and an inner sleeve for further support. 

 The Air Jordan VI was popular amongst sneaker enthusiasts, and was featured widely in popular culture, from Jerry Seinfeld wearing them on his series, to being the primary featured shoe in manga series, Slam Dunk! . Tinker Hatfield also designed Air Jordan VI boots worn by Michael Keaton in the film, Batman Returns. This was the shoe that would lead Jordan to his first NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls, as well as being named the NBA Finals MVP and overall league MVP. 

The Mighty 15: Air Jordan V

The Mighty 15
Air Jordan V

This is my favorite shoe of all time, just as a preface.  The amount of love and appreciation I have for the Air Jordan V is only rivaled by the Air Jordan I, and the Air Jordan VII.  In 1990 Tinker Hatfield had the sneaker world in the palm of his hand.  Michael had wanted something original to separate his brand from the other basketball shoes at the time, so Tinker took his inspiration to new heights, World War II planes.

It was this design that gave the Air Jordan V such a distinct look amongst the rest of the competition. With the same visible Air unit being carried over from the III and IV, they Jordan V carried strong ankle support with it and reflective 3M material on the tongue.  The mesh outsole remained and the shoe featured a new asymmetrical collar, as well as a higher cut.  The shoe is aesthetically excellent showing the inspiration right from the get go with the visible shark teeth and the 23 adorning the side of the shoe to represent Michael's number and team.  The Nike Air logo was stitched onto the back as opposed to embossed as well.

This shoe would carry Michael to his 6th straight All-Star Game appearance, as well as winning his 4th straight league scoring title, as well as a record 69 points in a single game vs Cleveland.  Though losing to Detroit in the conference finals, it was clear that Jordan, and Jordan brand, were building a dynasty.

The Mighty 15: Air Jordan IV

The Mighty 15
Air Jordan IV

   In 1989 the Air Jordan IV became the first ever Air Jordan to release into the global market.  Designed by Tinker Hatfield, the Jordan IV carried over many of the aspects that made the Jordan III popular, as well as tweaking many aspects to make it more comfortable, and better to perform in.

 Returning with the patented visible air unit and padded toebox, the Jordan IV introduced nubuck into the basketball sneaker.  The nubuck was featured alone the heel and toebox, as well as a mesh to increase breathability in the shoe.  The Jumpman would return on the tongue with the word flight written underneath, and Nike Air on the back of the shoe, as with the Jordan III.

Along with being voted to his 5th All-Star game, the Jordan 4 was one of Spike Lee's personal favorite shoes.  Lee would use it in his Mars Blackmon commercials, along with his famous movie, Do the Right Thing.  Jordan would later create his own custom shoe reminiscent of the IV dubbed the Spi'zike, to honor Spike Lee in advertising the shoe. 

The Mighty 15 : Air Jordan III

Mighty 15
Air Jordan III

 It was 1988, Michael Jordan was set to leave Nike due to unhappiness with his shoe, and looking towards greener pastures with Converse offering Michael a lucrative deal.  That was set until a designer by the name of Tinker Hatfield came along and offered some help.  He took the reigns of the Air Jordan 3, and turned everything we knew about the basketball sneaker, and turned it into something modern, refreshing, and stylish.  

Gone were the Air Jordan wings, and faux snakeskin leather, instead replacing it came a tumble leather look, elephant print, visible air unit which would become a Nike staple, and the new Jumpman logo which would become the iconic logo for the Jordan brand.  The initial run of the Air Jordan 3 would feature a Nike Air logo on the back of the shoe, later replaced with the Jumpman logo in all further releases.  The Jordan 3 offered comfort, along with play technology to allow longetivity, with a broken in feel, even on the first wear.

The Jordan 3 launched with a series of commercials with famed director Spike Lee, and his character Mars Blackmon.  The character would lead into humorous discussion with which Mars would analyze Michael's play and top it off with, "It's gotta be the shoes."  Jordan would win his second Slam Dunk title, his 4th All Star game, and his first MVP wearing these shoes.  Michael would stay with Nike, citing these pair, as his favorite.

The Mighty 15: The Air Jordan II

The Mighty 15:
The Air Jordan II

In the year 1986 Michael Jordan had taken his team to the NBA Playoffs after a 4 year absence.  Though in a losing effort, it was seen that Jordan was a special talent that was not to be underestimated.  To match his prestige and athleticism, Nike commissioned designed Bruce Kilgore, the designer of Nike's popular shoe the Air Force 1, to take the reigns for the Air Jordan II.  What would come is a shoe thatt could be compared to the high end designer shoes of the time.

 The Air Jordan II was designed to match the traits of both an athletic performance shoe, as well as a fashion designer shoe.  Made in Italy, the Jordan II featured numerous upgrades in performance.  No prominent Nike "Swoosh" was visible on this shoe to distinguish the Jordan line as its own brand, rather trading it for a faux lizard skin print, as well as a molded plastic heel cup and full sole Nike Air pocket for cushioning. The Jordan wings logo took a much more prominent spot, sitting on the tongue of the sneaker, as opposed to the side. Though not seeing much time on court, the shoe would win Michael his first NBA Slam Dunk championship, as well as being considered the first "luxury basketball sneaker".

The Mighty 15: The Air Jordan 1

The Mighty 15!
Day 1: The Jordan 1

   

The Jordan Brand starts here in 1984, Michael Jordan had just been signed to Nike for a $5 million contract, and his own line of sneakers. In his rookie year Michael had turned the basketball world on its head, not only with his play, but with the release of Michael Jordan's first signature shoe, the Air Jordan 1.

Michael Jordan's first signature shoe was designed by Peter Moore for his '84 season with the Chicago Bulls, and his endorsement with Nike.  The only shoe to bear a prominent Nike logo, the Jordan 1 was considered the standard shoe at the time for a player to play basketball.  Initially the shoe came out in the red/black colorway you see above known as the "Bred", but the NBA commissioner at the time David Stern banned said shoes for not having enough white on them to match the team.  This led to a campaign by Nike in which they told consumers that wearing the shoes gave Michael a competitive edge, thus being fined $5000 every game he played in them.  The shoes would later release in a Red/Black/White colorway known as "Chicago" which Michael would wear throughout the rest of the season.

The Air Jordan 1 features all premium leather materials and is the only shoe in the Jordan brand to bear the Nike "Swoosh".  There is a patented Nike Air unit in the heel for cushioning, high ankle cushioning, and a locked down toebox for additional protection. Though it would be considered primitive amongst today's standards, the Air Jordan 1 was the first of its kind to turn the basketball world into the tune of more colorful and prominent sneakers, and it gave fans a new way to enjoy the sport, and a new way to look at athletic shoes.