Nice Kicks: So, as you stated earlier MJ played a big part in this creation. Where did Dwyane Wade come into play considering he is the lead endorser of this shoe?

Tom Luedecke: We definitely catered towards Dwyane Wade. A lot of the discussions happened with MJ in regards to the concept, but we built the product with Dwyane in mind.

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Nice Kicks: What was Dwyane Wade’s initial response to the finished product?

Tom Luedecke: His response has been interesting because it’s also a new concept for him. I mean, we see him wearing them in the Dominate Another Day commercials and we’ve seen him play in the product. He wore them for a sneak peek in the Christmas Day game, so I think he’s excited. We heard he wore in it practice last night, and he’s going to wear it again tonight in practice, so we may see him wear it in the game tomorrow.

Nice Kicks: How much of a part did you play in designing the Air Jordan 2011 and how closely did you work with Tinker Hatfield?

Tom Luedecke: Tinker and I were face-to-face with this design. We worked very closely on this. Through the process, I went over to the factories and came back to show Tinker what we did and what we came up with just to make sure we were staying true to the concept. I’ve worked in the Innovation Kitchen with Tinker for seven years, and he’s been seeing progress being made on this Modular construction for footwear. He came to the table with sketches that show an expression of that in a Jordan shoe. He really pushed the concept to be first to market and to be the first brand to deliver Modular footwear in basketball.

? “We’re starting on a path of bringing more of this in the future…We really want to push this type of thinking to the next level, so this is our first step in getting lighter, more modular and giving more options to the player.” – Tom Luedecke

Nice Kicks: What is the difference between the Air Jordan 2011’s Modular Technology and the Podulon Technology seen in the Jordan CP3.IV

Tom Luedecke: So, Modular means it can exchange and Podulon is basically a constant under the foot. Podulon has two different foams but it remains the same under the foot. Here, sockliner, Air technology and foam can all be exchanged between the two midsoles.

Nice Kicks: So, we assume there will be some extraordinary, upcoming Air Jordan 2011 colorways such as the “Year of the Rabbit” pair. What’s next for this signature model? What should our readers expect from the Air Jordan 2011?

Tom Luedecke: We have some stuff in the back pocket for the All-Star game, so we can’t give too much away, but they’re will be some nice colorways. We will have a Warrior execution of it, so there will be some fun stuff coming soon. We’re starting on the path of bringing more of this in the future. This past Monday, we met with MJ on the next shoe and talked about early concepts. We really want to push this type of thinking to the next level, so this is our first step in getting lighter, more modular and giving more options to the player.

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Click here to see detailed photos of the evolution of the Air Jordan 2011 plus photos of additional colorways.