For all of us who have studied fashion over the years, Nike Air Jordan shoes have certainly been one of the most interesting, most durable, and one of the best selling products of all time. For Nike, from the moment they announced Air Jordans  for sale was the moment that their company would change forever. Up to this point, they had been associated as a company for joggers and runners, mostly middle aged white men who were overweight and needed to lose a few pounds by running. Suddenly, with the release of the Air Jordans, they were hip and cool, and associated with a multi-million dollar industry in basketball.

Originally, Nike Air Jordan shoes were banned by the NBA due to their color. Up to this point, all basketball shoes had to be white, as opposed to the multicolor varieties being pushed by Nike. Michael Jordan famously flouted this rule, racking up fines of $5000 per match. Nike were only to happy to pay these fines, as they were recouping their business many times over thanks to the prime advertising they were getting. They did extremely well out of it, and this was the beginning of the transformation for Nike, from being solely a company that was there to provide running shoes, to a company that we know today with a multi-billion dollar global presence.

All Nike’s sports and basketball shoes, from the Nike Dunk to the 18th incarnation of the Air Jordan, have this model of shoe from 1984 to thank. It would be difficult to imagine a world of sports and fashion without them.