Air Jordan 1 "Future Sole" Edition

The fellas over at Crooked Tongues give us a peek into this year’s version of the Air Jordan “Future Sole”, a sneaker designed in conjunction with the Future Sole competition held by Nike every year. Below we have a more detailed account behind the design process.

Friends and family editions of any shoe are an excuse to go crazy without having to explain yourself to irate fanboys. Promo means you can do whatever you like. Anything within a certain reason. When we heard there was a limited edition Future Sole Jordan I, we had visions of what it could look like – a ‘drawn on’ style application in line with the project’s ethos? A makeup inspired by the previous year’s winning entry? Actually, what we got was a good exercise in restraint, on the high silhouette, carrying the more padded tongue of the Phat line. The upper carries a net-pattern Scotchlite-style reflective material for a touch of dazzle effect that doesn’t reveal it until the light hits it right, and matching the Future Sole logo on the heel, the traditional red, black and white is quietly disseminated across the upper is a tasteful way to implement those Bulls colours too. Red on the outsole is all a little Louboutin too – but that’s us idiotically speculating to fill paragraphs – red soles on a one really is nothing new.

We’re not just saying this because we’ve got a pair in the office, but the Future Sole Jordan I is one of the best new makeups of the shoe of late. Reflective materials are always crease-tastic, but we already knew that, and these are still pretty hot. Simple done well, and the whole initiative is something we support one hundred percent. Last year’s winners were good – shouts to Matthew D. in particular for an outstanding design, shorn of the referential guff old farts like us would chuck at a fresh silhouette. Encouraging the next generation of designers is something that should be taken very seriously, so shouts to team Jordan for making it happen. At present, Nike’s on a roll with the technology and new court pieces – Future Sole should keep the industry out of retrospective purgatory for the next decade or so. As Razors in ‘The Long Good Friday’ put it so unexpectedly eloquently, “Little acorns…” We’re anticipating even bigger things for the project this year.