Jordan 1 What The Doernbecher Release
The Air Jordan 1 is the trainer that started it all, marking the beginning of the most iconic lineage of trainers in history. In many ways, it's responsible for launching modern-day trainer culture as a whole - and it almost didn't happen.
History of Air Jordan 1
As the story goes, the year was 1984, and Chicago Bulls' rookie Michael Jordan was a hot commodity for endorsement deals, with trainers naturally being paramount.
Jordan had just come off a stellar college basketball season at the University of North Carolina. He wore Converse and was a personal fan of Adidas, so he took meetings with both companies, but they never reached a deal. It seems strange today, but at the time, Michael Jordan hated Nike - so much so that he refused to take a meeting with them.
He was persuaded by his mother, Deloris Jordan, to visit the Nike campus in Oregon and listen to their pitch. His plan was to go through the motions to appease his parents and agent but he ultimately left with a contract unlike any other.
Rather than walking in the shadows of established athletes like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird (which may have been the case had he signed elsewhere), Michael Jordan shone in the Nike limelight. He was paid more than any other athlete with a trainer endorsement at the time. Nike made him the face of its growing presence in basketball, and gave him his own trainer line - called Air Jordan.
Jordan 1 What The Doernbecher
For about 20 years, Nike has partnered with Doernbecher to create footwear designs sold for charity. This 2021 Doernbecher release pays tribute to the original Air Jordan 1 Doernbecher trainer released in 2007. The Air Jordan 1 offers several distinct panels, which is exactly what designers wanted for this edition's concept, "What the Doernbecher". Each panel of the trainer is covered in a distinct, abstract pattern that was featured on the DB trainers in the past. To commemorate the 17th year of the collaboration, only 17 pairs of this shoe were created, which makes it highly sought after.