SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

Jordan II

For many, nothing screams “Quality!” in a shoe like the “Made in Italy” stamp, as Italy has become almost synonymous with “high-end” when it comes to footwear. Taking the Air Jordan II’s production to the Italian shores helped to firmly establish the sneaker as not only a performance shoe, but also an exclusive, luxury product. And in terms of being a premium product, there has been no looking back for the Air Jordan. It has gone on to be the standard in the hoops industry.

The Nike Air Force 1 may be Bruce Kilgore’s most well-known contribution to the sneaker world, but the Air Jordan II holds a solid place in sneaker history itself. True to its Italian production, the redesigned upper used a high-quality leather to showcase its clean, simple lines. The most obvious new design element was the elimination of the Swoosh as a prominent feature in the midfoot design – a trait that the line has carried over to this day. The Wings logo, as seen on the original model, saw its final use in the line when it was featured on the tongue of the II. The Wings logo also played largely into the box design. As a performance shoe, it stepped up the cushioning from the original Air Jordan and provided a full-length, encapsulated Air Unit. A firm, plastic heel counter hugged the foot and added additional support to keep the foot in place. Unfortunately, the II’s time on court was held to a minimum in MJ’s second season, as a broken foot limited him to only 18 regular season games. When he returned to battle the Celtics in the playoffs, he did so in the original Air Jordan.

Bulls colorways, predictably, dominated the original release of the II. The White/Red and White/Black/Red colorways were released in both a high- and low-cut. After releasing a low-top version of the Air Jordan I, the II Low would mark a nine-year hiatus for the line’s use of the cut. Excluding the XI I.E. models, the low-top Jordan did not make its return until the XIII.

Like the original Air Jordan, 1994 saw the II receive the Retro treatment. And also similar to the original, the Retro 2 didn’t exactly fly off the shelves. These first-run Retros fetch high prices now, but were easily available at discounts shortly after their release. By the time the 2004 Retro 2 arrived, the nostalgia craze was in full force, with the White/Columbia Blue/Varsity Maize “Melo” colorway even inspiring campouts.

Today, original IIs are some of the most highly coveted Jordans, and on the rare occasion they pop up, fetch increasingly higher prices. The Air Jordan II may not be at the top of as many people’s “All-Time Favorite Jordans” lists as the next few models, but it has always maintained a solid fan base. The Air Jordan II had most importantly established the standard for a luxury performance sneaker, and set the stage for the frenzy that was to follow.