Arguably the most popular sneakers of all time, the Air Jordan 1 has been seen in all kinds of interesting colourways and materials. Here, we rank five of the most popular Air Jordan 1 sneakers of all time.
5. Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1
The Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 was released not long after Scott’s 3rd album, Astroworld. The Houston-born rapper had already released three shoes with both Nike and Jordan, but his Air Jordan 1 would be his most anticipated. And it did not disappoint.
With a flipped swoosh and a fuzzy brown suede on the upper, the shoes were adored. The Travis Scott 1s would quickly rack up bids on the resale market for over $1000. Since then, Scott has released a number of sneakers with Jordan, including some more 1s. However, for many, his first collab is still his best. I’ve personally wanted a pair of these for the longest time, but they’re incredibly hard to come by – at least for a good price.
4. Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard
After his first year in the league, Jordan would play an exhibition game in Italy where he would slam the ball into the basket so hard that the backboard shattered into pieces. All of this occurred whilst Jordan wore an orange, black and white Stefanel Trieste Jersey (hence the use of those colours of the shoes). But what makes the success of these sneakers so surprising is that they weren’t an OG colour or a collaboration. And, thanks to the positive reception of the original release, the Jordan brand has revisited the Shattered Backboard theme a number of times since. As a result, the Shattered Backboard colourway has quickly become more widely known than the Dunk it was named after. If you’re a fan of Jordans (especially Jordan 1s), you’ll know these are highly sought after.
3. Air Jordan 1 Royal
There are two kinds of sneakerheads: those who like Breds and those who like Royals. The Air Jordan 1 Royal, which features the same colour blocking as the Air Jordan 1 Bred, swaps out the red for a royal blue. Due to the NBA’s rules in 1985 about shoes needing to match the team’s colours, the most popular OG colourways tend to feature white, red, and black. But for those who are less keen on red or who didn’t support the Bulls, the Air Jordan 1 Royal quickly became their go-to model.
However, if you look at the Jordan line, very few of them have a significant amount of blue on them. So, this does stand out as a special pair. In fact, every time the sneaker has been retro-ed, it’s instantly snapped up, even when the colourway is used on a mid or a low silhouette. It was shocking for many that 2023’s Air Jordan 1 High OG ‘Royal Reimagined’ failed to sell. But it’s also a lesson to the brand: Don’t mess with what’s already working.
2. Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Chicago
Designed by Virgil Abloh and released as part of “The Ten”, the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Chicago took the iconic sneaker and added flaws to it (at least that’s how many see it). While this may seem strange at first, by leaving parts unsewn and unfinished, Abloh believed it would amplify their “handmade” quality and, in turn, strengthen the emotional connection we have towards the shoes. Not only has the shoe become a grail for many sneaker collectors, but out of the ten original models, the Off-White 1s were by far the standout pair. Don’t be surprised to pay thousands of dollars for a pair of these Jordan 1s today.
1. Air Jordan 1 Bred
The first Air Jordan 1 to be made, hence its use of Chicago Bull’s colours, it was the Breds that kicked off Nike’s infamous “Banned” campaign. After wearing the sneakers, Michael Jordan was threatened with increasing fines should he wear the colourway again. This was because it failed to follow the NBA’s 51% rule – that any shoe on the court must be at least 51% white. Jordan would go on to wear a Bred version of the sneaker for the 1985 Slam Dunk Contest, which would immortalise the silhouette and also prompt another letter from the NBA.
As a result of this second letter, Nike created an advert that highlighted that “On October 18th, the NBA threw them out of the game.” But the classic ad would go on to state, “Fortunately, the NBA can’t stop you from wearing them.” This would kickstart the sneaker’s success and, therefore, points towards the Breds being the most important colourway on this list. Without this controversial colourway and Nike’s ad campaign, who knows where the brand would have been today? These are still the most popular Air Jordan 1 sneakers of all time.
