Sneaker coverage dedicated to the upcoming Air Jordan 1 OG High ‘Cactus Jack’ has been flowing heavvvy; so heavy that we know every friggin’ inch of the shoe without (90% of us) ever holding a pair! No frontin’ though; the kicks are so sick that all the hype makes sense.
Rarely do we see non-OG style Air Jordan 1s pop off, meaning, if JB messes with the 1’s traditional look then fans tend to let ’em sit; but Travis’s new joints shake that trend. Throw a zipper on a pair of 1s and sneaker heads hate… put a Jumpan logo on the 1’s heel and OGs trip out… get it? So our community’s acceptance of the reversed Swoosh and modified ankle on Travis’s 1s can be credited to a few things:
a) Travis Scott is so on right now that people don’t care if the Swoosh is backwards
b) We (sneaker heads) are starting to accept non-OG 1s
c) Hype is one hell of a drug and we’re all just intoxicated as hell
d) All of the above
Hype and the Air Jordan 1 have been homies for a loooong time, and some of the brand’s most coveted kicks in their catalog are AJ1s. Getting geeked over some rare, collaborative, 1s ain’t nothing new – it’s a trend we’ve seen Jordan Brand exploit since the ‘Japan’ 2001 Air Jordan 1 joints that flipped the game upside down. Before ’01 1s had just been, you know, just 1s (simple, clean, old shoes). Since the Japan Pack’s trifecta of high quality AJ1 retros Jordan Brand continues to seek new and creative ways of presenting Michael’s first signature shoe. Some collabs/ variants of the Jordan 1 end up at Nike Factory Stores, while others hold value over x10 higher than MSRP.
Lets take a look back at the rarest (and most expensive) Air Jordan 1 collabs of all-time to celebrate the pending L we all finna take on the ‘Cactus Jack’ Air Jorddan 1s!
Air Jordan 1 OG High QX (Chinas); 2007 (re-issue in 2013)
The OG release of the QX 1s (aka ‘China’ 1s) was limited to 240 pairs and dropped exclusively at the Jordan Brand Shanghai store. All 240 pairs could be registered for authenticity via Jumpman23.com (oh, the memories of that website) too. A second wave of QX 1s released at Shanghai Nike locations in 2013s, but they were less limited than the first run. Resell $1,500 – 2,000 USD – yikes.
Air Jordan 1 OG High “She’s Got Game”; 2017
Spike Lee been correct in the Jordan game since ’89. Technically these saw a retail release at the NYC boutique 40 Acres and a Mule; but calling the “She’s Got Games” limited would be a clownish understatement. Dressed in leather that puts the ‘Shattered Backboards’ to shame and unique Marks Blackmon branding (on the heel and tongue tag) these ‘Spike Lee joints’ are new-school and old-school at the same damn time! Gotta have a big bank to grab a pair though – retail was $300 (s/o to Yeezy for killing it at that price point on the regular) and resell is over 4 racks – ouch.
Air Jordan 1 OG High ‘The Ten by Off-White’; (2018)
A special kind of magic happens on the first pair of shoes from a collection featuring heavyweight contributors – they’re always the best of the bunch for some reason. When Virgil Abloh got in the Air Jordan 1 trenches he constructed (deconstructed) a modern masterpiece. Simplistic yet complex; how much do we need to talk about these? You know what it is! They’re the Off-White joints, the most recognizable pair of new Jays of the last decade. $190 MSRP; $4,000 – 6,000+ resell value and climbing!
Dave White Wings For the Future; (2011)
Two versions of Dave White’s take on the Air Jordan 1 OG High arrived on the scene back in 2011; one black pair that most people have seen, and one uber rare, auction only, white pair. The white/gold/American Flag AJ1s seen above are the rarest 1s of all time with only 23 pairs in existence. Around 2008-’12 SoleCollector and Nike had a very special relationship with the sneaker news outlet and sneaker brand teaming up for some epic one-of-a-kind events. These ‘Wings for the Future’ 1s were released via auction on SoleCollector directly with proceeds going to Jordan Brand’s Wings for the Future program that aimed to nurture young artists within less fortunate communities. A good cause + a great design = an epic shoe. Resell is super crazy because with only 23 pairs pricing is based completely off of sizing. The last pair to sell on StockX was a 10.5 for 4.5k – damn.