by Tzvi Twersky | @ttwersky
This past Sunday, Jordan Brand flew a handful of writers down to Miami Beach to chronicle the unveiling of the Jordan Fly Wade, Dwyane Wade’s first JB signature shoe. Today, Tuesday, April 5, they flew a handful of writers back to their respective home states. In the 48 hour interim between the two flights, aside from the bright, burning sun in the sky and some cuties on Ocean Drive, the thing that stood out when we walked around as a group was that almost every single event participant was rocking a pair of classic Js.
For the better part of a day, I thought I was the only one who noticed the abundance of Cement IIIs. As I found out on Monday, apparently, I wasn’t.
“It’s amazing to look at some of the sneakers you guys are wearing,” said Dwyane Wade, motioning toward our feet, during a group interview introducing the Jordan Fly Wade. “[It’s amazing] how 20 some years later it still looks awesome; people are still rushing out to get it. Eventually, one day, this (the Jordan Fly Wade) will be retro [Laughs].”
Available in two separate colorways on May 5 ($140) and for customization on NikeiD on May 29—rare for a JB sneak—the Jordan Fly Wade is not only Dwyane Wade’s first Jordan Brand signature but at 13 ounces, it’s also the brand’s lightest shoe to date.
“Your first shoe is always going to be special to you,” said an ebullient Wade, “so this one is always going to be special to me. And I would hope that it would be special to others as well.”
With Wade’s aggressive style of play—“some say reckless; I say aggressive,” laughed the All-Star guard—in mind, JB built the Fly Wade to specific specifications that his game requires.
“One of the keys things was, we wanted to do was make sure it was lightweight and still structural,” says Mark Smith, a creative director at Jordan.
They attempted to accomplish that by installing the following specs:
Nike Zoom unit in the forefoot and Max Air unit in the heel
Full-length Phylon midsole and asymmetrical collar for optimal performance
Vertical flex grooves on the forefoot
Rotational traction pattern on the medial forefoot
Asymmetrical Collar cut lower on the lateral side and higher on the medial side
Classic Jordan elephant crackle print on the outsole and clear rubber sole.
With a large Jumpman logo near the rear and an interim Fly Wade logo on the tongue—Wade assures that this won’t be the logo on his next line of products—Jordan Brand is unabashedly proud of Dwyane’s first signature shoe.
“Jordan’s back and is oncourt and is kicking ass,” said Smith.
For his part, DWade’s pretty hyped, too.
“To have my own signature product with the brand—which is right next to MJ—is awesome,” said Wade, from a luxury suite high up on Miami Beach’s skyline. “It’s something, a couple of years ago, I wouldn’t of thought would happen. But here I am today.”
While it’s unclear what exactly JB has planned for him next, Wade has a bold vision of the future.
“What makes this more exciting is, I have future goals of more signature products.”
To learn more about the Jordan Fly Wade, watch Mark Smith and Dwyane Wade introduce and then answer a host of detailed questions about it in the video above. For detailed photos of the shoe in four distinct colorways, check the gallery that we ran earlier.
