The Air Jordan 3 was originally designed with a Swoosh.
That little known piece of Nike lore has come to light with the impending release of the “Tinker” Air Jordan 3 that’s set to drop later this month. Veteran sneaker designer and architect of the Air Jordan line Tinker Hatfield finally explained why he decided to take the Nike branding off the original design.
“I realized very early on that it would really piss off all the people at Nike, which I loved doing, to be honest,” Hatfield said. “That usually means that I'm doing something different, so I really wanted to shake people up.”
Being that the Jordan 3 was designed at a pivotal time when MJ was considering leaving Nike in the late 1980s, Hatfield recalled the logic that was going through his mind in order to keep the player with the brand.
“I also felt like for Michael himself, there was a chance to prove that he was so important and powerful as a cultural icon as a personality and a player that he didn't need the Swoosh,” he said. “That was really hard to get people to swallow, but I’m so glad we didn’t do it.”
So what does the designer of the Air Jordan 3 think of his original scrapped sketch for the Air Jordan 3 coming to life? Well, he almost forgot he drew it on there in the first place.
“It’s funny to see that shoe with the Swoosh on it. It looks cool to me now because now I remember drawing it on there in the first place,” he joked. “The Jumpman was such a great little logo that I knew I was going to use that. Half the time I don't know what I’m doing to be honest.”
