Air Jordan 1 OG Light Fusion Red 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.
Air Jordan 1 OG Light Fusion Red
The Air Jordan 1 OG Light Fusion Red features a tri-coloured design of Light Fusion Red with white overlays juxtaposed by a pop of laser-orange on the collar and once again on the Nike swoosh. The colour blocking calls the original AJ1 release to mind from almost 35 years ago and lends a modern sense of innovation to the design. The Light Fusion Red staple appears across the trainer's toe, eyestay, counter, and ankle flaps. White colour meets in the middle to balance out the two bright colours on the laces and midsole. The tread, embroidered wings, and the tongue label round out the all-black trainer to pull together the entire design. This design landed in US stores on 12 June 2021.