Air Jordan - famous line from Nike

Air Jordan shoes known merely as Air Jordans are a brand of shoes from the house of Nike. This line was originally designed for the world famous professional NBA basket ball player Michael Jordan who also endorsed it. The Air Jordan shoes are now being sold by Jordan Brand which is a sub division of Nike. This line was first released in 1984 and since then every single year, new designs of this shoe have been released though Michael Jordan retired from professional basket ball.

Air Jordan is so popular that there are collectors for these shoes. They typically classify the Air Jordan line by Model and release year. Models include Originals - OG, Retros, Retro Pluses - Retro +, Player Exclusive - PE and Samples. The Jordan brand famous for the Air Jordan line also happens to manufacture other models of signature shoes.

Air Jordan shoes are easily and widely available online; they can also be bought from boutiques and sneaker retailing outlets. How was Air Jordan conceptualized? In 1984, Nike was lagging far behind in the fast paced sportswear market. Nike was branded as the White Man Jogging Brand and had absolutely no claims in the basket ball world. The running shoe image of Nike was dying out and the need of the hour was a totally new and appealing line of shoes that had different utility value from a running or jogging shoe. There was a much needed impetus through the Air Jordan line - which was introduced by Nike with the rookie player Michael Jordan as its icon and ambassador. He was offered a whooping sum of $2.5 million for a five year contract apart from royalties and fringe benefits. The Air Jordan line took the athletic shoe industry by storm.

In the pre-Air Jordan era, basket ball shoes were typically white in colour. But with Air Jordan, all that became history - they were first introduced with a bold black and red styling. At that time, NBA banned these colours during matches but Michael Jordan wore them and paid hefty fines during each game in which the Air Jordan 1 was banned. This definitely put Air Jordan in the top with this kind of visibility and publicity. Michael Jordan showed super performance during that year and Air Jordan was irrevocably placed at the top of basket ball shoes line. Air Jordan can proudly claim that since their introduction in 1985, they have never looked back. They have been right amongst the top selling basket ball shoe range. The designers of Air Jordan are known to pick their ideas from their own lives, hobbies and bringing these themes to the designing table to come up with new designs that rock the world e very year. The Air Jordan 1 was the first line to be introduced; it has since then been re-released many times. Some times, they have sold out successfully; at others not so well. The Air Jordan 1 has the maximum number of versions to its credit as compared to any other Air Jordan shoe.