Sometimes referred to as the shoe that saved the brand, the Air Jordan 3 revitalised Nike’s Jordan brand and set a new standard for sneaker fashion. After a lacklustre performance by the Air Jordan 2 and a risk of Michael Jordan terminating his contract with Nike, the Air Jordan 3 needed to save Air Jordan sneakers, or the entire brand could collapse! This was exacerbated by the departure of marketing VP Rob Strasser and designer Peter Moore, who both quit Nike within the same week and began their own brand, trying to encourage MJ to abandon Nike and launch his own brand with them. This also put delayed on the Air Jordan 3, which did not help the situation with Jordan.
Enter Tinker Hatfield, a then-unknown designer who had just entered the scene. Hatfield had some previous success designing the Nike Air Max 1 and the Air Trainer 1 but had never been given a project of this magnitude to complete. After speaking directly with MJ, Hatfield aimed to hit all of Jordan’s requirements: mid-cut height, soft full-grain leather, and with flash and sophistication. When the time came to unveil the new silhouette to him, Jordan was late and uninterested in the meeting, sparking fears that his foot was already out the door. It wasn’t until Hatfield removed the cover from the prototype that MJ perked up and showed interest, and he absolutely adored the new design! Hatfield had delivered a perfect design which hit each of his requirements and added a special bonus, his own logo front and centre! The Air Jordan 3 was the first to feature the Jumpman logo, and it certainly sealed the deal and Jordan renewed his contract with Nike.
So, how does the Air Jordan 3 fit? These sneakers fit true to size in every scenario! The extra padding around the heel and Nike’s iconic air cushioning in the heel make this sneaker incredibly comfortable and take up any additional space that going a size down would have used! Due to the soft leather upper and toe box, buying a size up will likely result in a dramatic toe crease. From what we can see there is little variation between colourways or editions, so we’d recommend going true to size for all Air Jordan 3s!
If you are looking to cop a pair of Air Jordan’s then make sure to check out Laced, who have a great range of sneakers.