Air Jordan I Air Jordan VIII Air Jordan XV
  Air Jordan II Air Jordan IX Air Jordan XVI
  Air Jordan III Air Jordan X Air Jordan XVII
  Air Jordan IV Air Jordan XI Air Jordan XVIII
  Air Jordan V Air Jordan XII Air Jordan XIX
  Air Jordan VI Air Jordan XIII Air Jordan XX
  Air Jordan VII Air Jordan XIV Air Jordan XXI
A Western Australia Michael Jordan Society presentation

Made in ITALY ?!?

The next season, 1985-86 promises to be a good one for MJ. Michael Jordan is enroute to superstardom after a stellar rookie season, winning NBA Rookie of the Year by beating Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston) and Sam Bowie (Portland).

But tragedy struck in the third game of the season against Golden State (Oct 29,1985). Michael broke the navicular bone in his left foot while running upcourt (after landing awkwardly from a dunk)?!?

Whether this is a problem is Air Jordan shoes or not, I don't care but did you know the Air Jordan 2 were MADE IN ITALY, the mecca of designer coúture and fast cars. Italian design house, Pininfarina, was involved in the project with Nike. Maybe it's because of the imitation lizard skin on the shoe or something. Who knows... but they came in beautiful shoe boxes that were unique back in 1987. The top lid is a large Air Jordan wings logo, with the tip of the wings coming down the side of the box. It was classy and innovative packaging.

AJ2 are extremely rare in deadstock condition. Near impossible to find in used condition either. The polyurethane midsole isn't exactly durable. They become stiff and crumble into dust due to age and poor material quality. The polyurethane in later Jordans were more stable and longer lasting.

The AJ2 weren't popular back then because it was the first sneaker with a triple-digit price tag. In 1987, nobody wanted to pay $100 plus for sneakers which when you factor in inflation, they were like US$170 in today's dollar. Jordan's injury caused interest in AJ 2 to wane. People were more interested in Michael Jackson, who was a hot ticket with the release of his "BAD" album. Plus the stockmarket crash in Oct 1987, didn't help sales either. But for those who bought one back then, you're one lucky dringo to experience AJ2 Italian pedigree.

The official catalog description was:

Upper: Performance leather upper for strength and comfort with no break-in required. Speed lacing provides quick and even fit adjustment.

Heel Counter: Embedded polyurethane heel counter and bellows for improved stability during cutting movements.

Sockliner: Anatomically correct, premolded polyurethane provides a supportive, comfortable lining for the foot.

Heel Airsole: Pressurized gas encapsulated in urethane provides maximum, stable cushioning.

Midsole: Direct bottom polyurethane gives unsurpassed cushioning and flexibility, while supporting the foot and keeping it cushioned during ground contact.

Outsole: Lightweight 2-color rubber outsole with anatomically correct flex grooves and pivot points for traction and stability.

 
 
86 - 87 AIR JORDAN II Fake lizard skin, polyurethane soles, funky ankle support with huge NIKE logo.
 


"I think he's God disguised as Michael Jordan. No question he had control of the game. He had to have one of the greatest feelings you can ever have. And, as hard as it might be to believe, it's actually fun playing against a guy like that."

- Larry Bird after Game 2 East First Round playoffs where Jordan scored a record 63pts in a double-OT loss to the Celtics at Boston Gardens.
  1995 Retros Hightops White/Red  
Jordan dunks on Clipper's Quintin Dailey CLICK FOR LARGER PIC
1995 Retros Lowtops White/Red  
Jordan scores 49 pts in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Round 1 1985-86 Playoffs
Right view of the left shoe Left view of the left sho
   

1987 Slam Dunk Championship : MJ doing his freethrow dunk. WAAARRRGGGGHHH!! Head Designer :
Bruce Kilgore

Technical Specs :
Nike Air-sole unit, faux lizard skin uppers and MADE IN ITALY

Price :
US$?? (in Nov 1986), US$105 (1995 retros)

Packaging :
1986 comes in a grey box with wings logo and paper "Made in Italy" hangtag

1995 comes in a colourful box, special tissue paper, and huge postcard.

2004 comes in a "Jordan Face" box, plain paper wrapper and "Imagination" retrocard

Colorways & pics (from www.air-jordans.com, www.niketalk.com, www.promo-shoes.com and www.ebay.com )

Original 1985
White/Red 4361
White/Black 4360
White/Black (low) 4115
White/Red (low) 4116

Shoe Catalog / High Box / Low Box / Promotional Poster

Retro 1995
White-Red-Black 130235-161 $100
White-Red-Black (low) 130236-161 $100

Nu'Retro 2003
July 12, 2003 White/Varsity Red-Metallic Silver 306152-161 $85
Aug 2003 Black/Chrome-Metallic Silver 306152-001 $85
Oct 2003 White/Midnight Navy-University Blue 306152-144 $85

Re-Retro + 2004
Mar 27, 2004 AIR JORDAN 2 Retro White/Red-Black 308304-161 $110.00
Apr 24, 2004 AIR JORDAN 2 Retro Black/Chrome 308304-001 $110.00
Apr 24, 2004 AIR JORDAN 2 Retro White/Columbia Blue-Varsity Maize 308308-141 MELOS $110.00
Oct 9, 2004 AIR JORDAN 2 Low Retro White/Varsity Red-Black 309837-101 $100.00
Dec 11, 2004 AIR JORDAN 2 Low Retro White/Midnight Navy-University Blue 309837-101 $100.00

Re-Retro + 2005
May 21, 2005 AIR JORDAN 2 Low Retro White/Metallic Silver-Varsity Maize 309837-102 $100.00
May 21, 2005 AIR JORDAN 2 Low Retro White/Light Steel Grey-Real Pink Womens 311648-103 $100.00
2004 AIR JORDAN 2 Player Exclusives
2004 AIR JORDAN 2 "Melos" Game-used
FAKE