Aleali May's Jordan Brand "Fortune" Collection is a Love Letter to Her Family's Filipina and Black Heritage

After teaming up with Jordan Brand earlier in 2021 for her Air Jordan 1 High Zoom “Califia” that was inspired by her childhood drill team, Aleali May is embarking on her fifth project with the Beaverton-based sportswear brand titled the “Fortune” Collection. The assemblage — which features an elevated take atop the Air Jordan 14 Low along with matching apparel — is designed as a love letter to her family’s Filipina and black heritage.

The focus of the kicks in this new capsule is jade — a mineral that May holds close to her heart as she once was gifted jade bangles from her grandmother as a means of good fortune. Marbled green midsole molds are brought in to mimic the aesthetic of this precious stone and come complemented with sandy upper constructions and the gilded lace tips.

“Throughout my collaborations, I always try to go back and say thank you to whoever was supporting me at the time”, May says in an interview with Jordan Brand. “My grandmother on my dad’s side gifted me gold and jade bangles that she’d had for 20 years before that. As a young girl, my grandmother on my mom’s side also gifted me her jade bangles. Those were my first pieces of jewelry.”

The apparel speaks to her affinity for motorbike culture present in LA and Manila. Included in the collection are biker-style zip-up shirts, tanks and shorts along with a black tee that’s styled with retro Jordan branding across the chest.

“We’d often see images of MJ getting out of a sports car, so for the campaign, I wanted to be getting off of a bike”, says the designer when speaking on her apparel. “Jordan Brand has a motorsports history, and I wanted to see what that would look like today from a woman’s perspective.”

SNKRS is slated to drop Aleali May ‘s “Fortune” collection on August 19.

In other footwear news, CCS paid tribute to its famous catalogs with a custom Nike SB Dunk Low.