SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

Jordan IX

It was the dawning of Michael Jordan’s grand visibility on a global stage. Jordan had just recently retired from basketball to pursue his childhood dream of playing baseball, and though it appeared as though he couldn’t top his Olympic-era fandom, Michael would be received as nothing short of a global icon during 1994, escalating his commercial endorsements and legendary status to new heights. The IX helped to celebrate this worldly frenzy that surrounded him, and with the help of graphic artist Mark Smith, Hatfield created the Jordan IX around a central theme of basketball now being a global game, thanks mostly to Jordan.

The IX features a sleek and clean upper, with a mostly basic White/Black/True Red colorway initially launching. However, it’s in the details that the IX truly shines, as the globe icon along the heel and outsole design cues, both created by Smith, help to profess the IX’s worldliness. Along the forefoot of the outsole, words and characters from languages like German, Japanese, Swahili, Russian, French and Italian were affixed, further expounding on the international flavor that embodied the shoe. While Hatfield admits the IX doesn’t necessarily innovate from a performance standpoint, one way in which the IX brought new support elements in a basketball shoe is in the molded teeth-like structure along the forefoot midsole, which helps to keep the foot planted over the footbed.

As the original colorways released once again included some familiar Bulls colorways such as the White/Black/True Red and Black/Dark Charcoal/True Red models, the IX also introduced to the Jordan line some colorways that hinted towards what we could expect to see in the future. One of the most sought-after, still unretroed, colorways is certainly the White/Black/Dark Powder Blue version, made to recognize Michael’s time at the University of North Carolina. In hopes of appealing to the lifestyle taste of Jordan’s fans, the Black/Light Olive/True Red was also released, albeit to a shaky reception. Upon the 2002 retro of the IX, once again the Olive colorway was seen, and once again to lukewarm response. Fans were more excited by the return of the White/Black/True Red colorway as well as the two Retro+ colorways, which included a sweet Medium Grey/Cool Grey patent leather rendition and the clean White/French Blue/Flint Grey. Though a thin list of Retro releases were seen in 2002, the most memorable versions were definitely seen on the feet of Darius Miles, Quentin Richardson and Derek Anderson in the form of player exclusives. The Retro 9 also marked the beginning of the player sampling of Retro models, which would of course spark the trend that now seems to have nearly every player in the league wearing an exclusive shoe on court.

Though the IX has been released in lower numbers than its other numbered brethren, and while it admittedly doesn’t fall into many “Top Jordan” lists, the global reach the shoe accomplished is certainly its lasting touch. Outside of the house he built, a statue of Michael Jordan was erected to forever link the United Center with it’s most famous marquee performer, and it’s the Jordan IX forever immortalized on his feet.