by Chris O’Leary/@olearychris
The uneducated eye might not even catch the difference.
There sits the Air Jordan II in an OG colorway, ‘Air’ written high on the heel, around the collar of the shoe. The original Air Jordan logo rests on the tongue and save for a likely changeup in materials that the old ‘heads know enough to complain about, the shoe is very close to identical to its 1987 original.
It’s in the sole of the shoe, though, where things stray into a new territory. Gleaming red like devils’ eyes is a translucent 360 Air Max unit. Underneath that is a redesigned outsole.
One look at these shoes and I expected the gates to open up from the Air Jordan purists. If I know this group — a group whose practices I take on as my own when the time is right — I know that this will set. them. off. There’s no way that the biggest fans of these shoes would let a change this drastic slide.
It turns out that even the sneaker world’s most refined eyes aren’t opposed to change if it’s done right. The thing is, up to this point we haven’t seen a lot of that kind of change. Fusions of every kind have been poorly received by message board types since their inception. What seems to be the common reaction to the Jordan II Max is that it’s an improvement on a classic sneaker that doesn’t mutilate its overall appearance.
If this release is successful, it opens up a world of possibilities for the Air Jordan line. What could be next? A Flywire Jordan XI? An Air Max Jordan XII? A carmine Jordan VI with Zoom Air?
How do you guys feel about a shoe like the Jordan II Max? Is this a positive step in the Jordan legacy or is it a nosedive in a finely crafted ship?
Pics via CounterKicks and rmkstore.
