Release Date: November 17th, 2018
Price: $190
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Jordan Brand and sneaker shop Union have come together to create and release a unique capsule collection inspired by the late ’80s early ’90s. The collection will include two colorways of the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG along with T-shirts, sweatshirts and pants.
When Jordan Brand’s designers heard Union owner Chris Gibbs’s idea for a vintage-styled Air Jordan footwear and apparel capsule, they were sold. They just had one question — what year?
“We’re referencing an era, late ’80s early ’90s,” explains Gibbs, an industry veteran who grew up during that era and understands that streetwear is at its best when it captures a vibe and is unencumbered by the strict technicalities of history.
Gibbs frequents Los Angeles-area flea markets and vintage stores and is thus familiar with the Jordan touch points of his youth and how those have aged over time. “The Jordan stuff I wear now is like if I go to a vintage market and I find some really old stuff that’s kind of patinaed or weathered in,” he says. “To me, the vintage nature of it allows you to kind of wear it outside of its intended purpose.”
Taking Union’s reputation for elevated taste and commitment to quality fabrics and construction, the Union x Air Jordan collection carefully captures that transcendence. It pulls from a golden era in sports and streetwear — a tone evoked by the color of the wash on the apparel to the careful distressing on the Air Jordan 1s.
The shoes also capture Gibbs’s approach with a fresh perspective on the mashup. Each fuses together classic Air Jordan 1 colorways with a noticeable stitch mark, evidence of a process that celebrates DYI culture and vintage hunting. Gibbs describes the inspiration as finding your most coveted pair of sneakers at the flea market, then elevating it by combining it with another pair to create a unique 1-of-1.
The first Air Jordan 1 takes on a color combination of White/Storm Blue-Varsity Red and draws inspiration from the Bred and Storm Blue colorways. The shoe comes with a leather build on the upper with exposed stitch detailing and suede on the collar. UN/LA branding is also present on the ankle tag.
The second pair takes on a color makeup of White/Varsity Red-Wolf Grey-Black which brings together the Black Toes and the White/Grey Jordan 1s. The shoe also features a leather build on the upper with suede detailing on the collar and UN/LA branding on the ankle.
For the apparel, Gibbs leaned into his past experience to balance the right look and fit. “One of the things we worked on was the drape,” said Gibbs. “I’ve learned from buying and selling a lot of high fashion that once you get through your normal silhouette of a T-shirt and a jean — garments that everybody can kind of do — there is really a lot of attention placed on how garments fall on the body.” The collection, which features T-shirts, sweatshirts and pants, has been washed and distressed to perfectly match the era that Union wanted to reference. At first glance, it looks like a vintage-haul jackpot.
The Air Jordan x Union Los Angeles capsule is available starting November 17 at select retailers. The White, Black, Varsity Red, Grey AJI will be available on SNKRS in EMEA, Greater China and North America. The White, Storm Blue, Black and Varsity Red AJI will be available exclusively at Union.
Inspiration Behind The Union x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG NRG Collection
Time determines which pieces become true classics, well after they’re no longer shiny and new. This notion of nostalgic wear and tear was the foundation for the Air Jordan x Union Los Angeles capsule collaboration, which includes “perfectly imperfect” Air Jordan Is, T-shirts, sweatshirts and pants.
Chris Gibbs, owner of Union Los Angeles, combined his love of weathered, vintage finds with a general muse — someone who’s been wearing Air Jordan Is for a long time and goes out of his or her way to repair them. He imagined these restorations looking “chopped and screwed,” as if the bottom half of one shoe was sewn onto the top half of another, with similarly combined tongues and laces.
Though Gibbs’ favorite Air Jordan is the AJIII, he and the Jordan NRG design team intentionally chose the Air Jordan I for its emotional impact. “This design is meant to embody the feeling you get from the AJI,” says Gibbs. “It’s one of the all-time classic silhouettes that’s going to continually span generations.” The Air Jordan I Retro High NRG “Union” combines the top of the 1985 “White / Natural Grey” AJI with the bottom of the “White / Black — Red” AJI, also known as the “Black Toe.”
Gibbs and Jordan NRG design re-studied the look and feel of the original 1985 AJI and figured out multiple methods for creating a carefully distressed 2018 version. This includes thicker leather, a nubuck Swoosh, tongue and ankle stitching, a yellowed midsole, exposed foam on the tongue and curling edges. It took nine attempts to achieve the fuzzy ankle and heel on the AJI “Union,” in order to match the 1985 AJI.
The enlarged Wings logo references a special makeup model that MJ played in for a few games — what would later be called the AJ1.5. It had the upper of an AJI and the outsole of the forthcoming AJII. The “imperfect” Wings logo placement and sizing were applied to the AJI “Union,” including the extension of the logo onto the stitching.
The insole graphic and tissue paper designs were taken from an instructive sketch made by Jordan designer, Paul Savovici, during a meeting between the two teams. On the apparel side, Gibbs studied the draping and washes of vintage pieces to replicate their look, fit and feel.
Latest News:
Update (11/12/2018): The Air Jordan x Union Los Angeles capsule is available starting November 17 at select retailers. The White, Black, Varsity Red, Grey AJI will be available on SNKRS in EMEA, Greater China and North America. The White, Storm Blue, Black and Varsity Red AJI will be available exclusively at Union.
Update (10/29/2018): Jordan Brand has announced that the Union x Air Jordan Capsule will release on November 17th. Each Air Jordan 1 will each retail for $190.
Update (10/17/2018): A possible Union Los Angeles x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG collab has been unveiled.
Images:
air.jordan.com (11/12/2018)
Nike (10/29/30)
kcaptej (10/17/2018)
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