By Olivia Guthrie
On the 40th anniversary of Michael Jordan’s collaboration with Nike to create the iconic Air Jordan shoes, attendees at the 2024 National Association of Black Journalists Conference in Chicago got nostalgic about their kicks as they recalled the iconic Jordan brand.
Vladimir Duthiers was in high school when the original Jordans came out, he recalled. Duthiers says everyone was wearing them, and he refused to join the fad. That was until two years ago, when he bought the Jordan 1s Space Jam and hopped on the bandwagon.
“Because not only do these Jordans look fly AF, they are the most comfortable sneakers I’ve ever worn that are sort of casual, right? So I ended up buying three pairs of this exact pair, and now I have like three others,” Duthiers said. “I’m sort of Air Jordan all the way now.”
The Air Jordan partnership was a landmark deal and revolutionized athlete endorsements, growing into one of the largest sports brands in the world. Jordan made shoes popular regardless of a person’s love of basketball or him. From the innovative fashion to the comfortability, even those who didn’t want to be like Mike wanted a pair of jays.
Anthony Baber was more a fan of Michael Jordan than the sport he gained his fame from. Baber idolized him as the greatest of all time. That was only part of his attraction to the Air Jordan brand. The cultural significance played a role too.
“I think it was also just a matter of style, Like everybody was talking about Jordans,” he said. “You would see people come to school like after a release and you’d just see like 30% of your school wearing those same Jordans. Nobody wants to feel left out.”
The Jordan brand remains relevant. In the past five years they have raked in over $19 billion in sales. With over 35 styles of Jordan shoes, the legacy is going nowhere.
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