Shoes Timeline

In the infamous 1984 NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers used the second pick of the draft to choose 7’1” Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan. In a way, Portland-based Nike also got second pick that year: Jordan wanted to go with his high school brand-adidas-but as the story goes, his parents convinced him to at least sit down with Nike’s founder, Phil Knight. Nike proceeded to woo Jordan with his own shoe line and a $2.5 million contract over 5 years (unheard of for a rookie at the time.) Jordan’s first shoe, the original “Air Jordan,” was immediately banned by the NBA for its bold, nonwhite colorway. Nike happily paid the $5000/game fine, and a merchandising star was born.

Everyone wondered how Nike would follow up its huge Air Jordan debut, but nobody foresaw the bold decisions they made. While the first Air Jordan was a glorified Nike Dunk, complete with the first AJ logo and canonized for its black colorway, the follow up was anything but. Inspired by a 19th century women’s Italian boot, the shoe was as elegant as a slow-motion Jordan dunk. It had faux leopard skin for style and a full length air sole for comfort. It was the first Nike made in Italy, the only Jordan not to include a black colorway in its original run, and perhaps most memorably, the first without a swoosh.  The Air Jordan 2 definitely set the tone for what would be a string of envelope-pushing designs by Nike.

Tinker Hatfield began as an architect, and that influence shines through in his modern conception of shoe design. Undeniably the most celebrated sneaker designer in history, Tinker’s run of incredible shoes started in 1987 with the Air Max 1 (the first shoe with a visible air pocket) and the Jordan III (featuring the new Jumpman logo, visible air and elephant print.) Like Jordan and Hatfield, Nike’s advertising team was also at the peak of their game. Each of these iconic shoes got a groundbreaking Nike ad. The Air Max 1 included the first TV ad featuring a Beatles song (Revolution), and the Jordan III kicked off the famous Spike Lee collaboration featuring his fast-talking Mars Blackmon character.

Ewing could have looked no further than the Knicks’ sideline that year to see what he needed to learn from Air Jordans. Knicks superfan Spike Lee loved the stylish Jordan IVs so much he featured them in his hit movie “Do the Right Thing”. Sneakerheads the world over went bananas when “Buggin Out” whipped out his toothbrush for an emergency clean after an oblivious biker rode over his precious Jordan IVs on the streets of Bed-Stuy.

Tinker Hatfield began as an architect, and that influence shines through in his modern conception of shoe design. Undeniably the most celebrated sneaker designer in history, Tinker’s run of incredible shoes started in 1987 with the Air Max 1 (the first shoe with a visible air pocket) and the Jordan III (featuring the new Jumpman logo, visible air and elephant print.) Like Jordan and Hatfield, Nike’s advertising team was also at the peak of their game. Each of these iconic shoes got a groundbreaking Nike ad. The Air Max 1 included the first TV ad featuring a Beatles song (Revolution), and the Jordan III kicked off the famous Spike Lee collaboration featuring his fast-talking Mars Blackmon character.

Ewing could have looked no further than the Knicks’ sideline that year to see what he needed to learn from Air Jordans. Knicks superfan Spike Lee loved the stylish Jordan IVs so much he featured them in his hit movie “Do the Right Thing”. Sneakerheads the world over went bananas when “Buggin Out” whipped out his toothbrush for an emergency clean after an oblivious biker rode over his precious Jordan IVs on the streets of Bed-Stuy.