SOLE COLLECTOR: Sneakers

Jordan VII

Just as Michael Jordan was fresh off of his second consecutive championship in leading the Chicago Bulls triumphantly over the ever-regretful, draft night blundering Portland TrailBlazers, it appeared as though his global popularity and celebrity could not possibly peak any higher. As Michael often did, soaring above expectations was never a problem. His global icon status would further climb as Jordan led the original Dream Team to a dominating Gold Medal finish in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, a run of games in which they won by an average of nearly 40 points and never even called a timeout.

Leading up to his summer of excellence was a season in which MJ led the Bulls to a 67-15 record, once again winning league MVP, and being named First Team All-NBA and All-Defense. While on court he enjoyed quite a successful season; the Air Jordan VII reinforced the line’s legendary status, thanks in part to once again having an innovative and creative marketing campaign. After being teamed with Spike Lee’s Mars Blackmon to the delight of fans, MJ shared the screen alongside a more widely known character this time around: Bugs Bunny. The White/Light Silver/True Red colorway would go on to be known as the “Hare Jordans,” and, along with the Black/Light Graphite/Bordeaux colorway, these two, to this day, remain a few of the most sought-after original colorways of any model yet to be retroed.

The more traditional Bulls-themed colorways released included the Black/True Red and White/Black/Cardinal Red, and along the upper, the VII is perhaps most known for featuring minimal branding as well as a Huarache-inspired ankle area design. The VII was also the first Tinker Hatfield-designed Jordan not to feature ‘Nike Air’ visibly along the midsole, nor branded along the heel panel, as the only visible Swoosh remained along the insole. Hatfield now reveals the VII was the first step in his calculated plan to remove all Nike branding and establish the Air Jordan as its own brand.

As Jordan Brand was formed over a handful of years later, it wasn’t until 2002 that the VII was treated to a retro reemergence. Both the Black/Dark Charcoal/True Red and White/French Blue/Flint Grey colorways were ruled sellouts nationwide, and the Olympic VII colorway would soon follow in 2004, once again featuring Jordan’s Dream Team jersey No. 9 at the heel. 2006 saw several more Retros, including more daring lifestyle versions, and the VII has still remained a cult favorite among collectors since its original release.

While the shoe perhaps wasn’t the most acclaimed, most technologically advanced or most visually heralded model, it can certainly be argued that MJ achieved some of his greatest feats in the VII, laying claim to countless more individual awards, an NBA Championship as well as an Olympic Gold Medal, all in the same year.