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words // Ian Stonebrook:
Few shoes have seen as long, strong or rocky of a run as the Air Jordan 1. Debuting in 1985, the shoe turned trial to triumph, making its NBA banning a banner advertising campaign and the birth of a cultural icon.
Nearly a decade later, the shoe came back in the first run of retros only to see sale racks and ‘too-soon’ tagging. The early 2000s would see a resurgent run of the model thanks to clean and classic colorways of the Japanese and American origin, while the late 2000s would see the AJ1 enter the Dunk dungeon of watered down abundance.
By the 2010s, the Air Jordan 1 would receive street style endorsement from Kanye West and his camp, making the model a must have for fly guys and gals around the world. Well timed retros with original detailing would also raise the profile of the strong silo.
While OG cuts and OG makeups still prove to be king, a unique range of collaborative colorways have kept the AJ1 interesting over the course of the last seven years. More often than not pairing with clothing brands of the heritage and luxury lineage, get a complete history of Air Jordan 1 collaborations in the pages below.
Levi’s x Air Jordan 1
photo via KixclusiveYear: 2008
These days, limited launches usually come packaged with consolation kicks. Years back, such styles would come equipped with made-to-match gear. While this ploy usually saw kick coppers paying extra for a rare pair only to be left with deadstock flex-fit hats and seldom worn hoodys, the Levi’s x Air Jordan 1 came equipped with a rather worthy wardrobe tie in.
Dropping with no official release date in March of 2008, this clash of the titans saw a big box with denim laced AJ1s and elephant lined 501s. Sizing issues made these somewhat of a tough sell, but in hindsight most fans of the AJ1 wish they would’ve coughed up the extra cash just to have a pair of these.
