Ahhhhh 1988. The climate for greatness was in full effect hitting just about every aspect of creativity around us.
From music that brought us the generic pop gem -that you know you love- Rick Astley
to one of my favorites from the year in -Johnny Hates Jazz-
to the G.O.A.T. Michael Jackson
and hip hop classics from Public Enemy,
N.W.A.,
& Eric B & Rakim -to name a few-,
to the the earliest viewings of -the then shorts on the Tracey Ulman show-‘The Simpsons’
big films of the year like Die Hard, the Naked Gun and Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Nintendo Mania in full effect
as well as art from
Jean Michel Basquiat
Image Via Tucson weekly
and Keith Haring
Image Via Melbourneharingmural
With all this going on there was a footwear revolution brewing in Oregon by way of a brilliant director in Spike Lee, the best athlete on the planet in Michael Jordan, the greatest footwear designer of all time in Tinker Hatfield and the juggernaut that is Widen + Kennedy. Since this is a story you probably already know about I’ll spare you the lecture -this time- but I will give you the low down on how this shoe sucked me in.
Enter Mars
I don’t remember the first time I saw the commercial for the Jordan III but at 7 years old it was something that caught my attention. Growing up I had an older sister that could care less about expensive sneakers so there was no sibling influence but I loved sports and for whatever reason I was obsessed with sneakers by the time I was about 5 or 6 years old. My first obsession was the Reebok BB4600 followed by the Nike Alpha Force Low but by 1988 I was all about the Black/Cement Jordan III. Unfortunately for myself I wore a mens shoe size and at that age and during those times there was no way my mother was spending 100 on a pair of sneakers for a 7 year old. Nope, instead it was off to Fayva shoes for the “well its not technically the Jordan III but it kinda looks like it” sneaker that I had to convince myself was good enough -and convince myself is just what I did-. Below is the only photo I could dig up of me wearing these rarely -if ever- before seen “off brand” Jordan III’s from Fayva but you’ll get the idea.
By the time 1994 rolled around and Nike brought back the III for its first retro I was amped but not amped enough to pick them up as I was in full Converse Pro Leather OX, Vans Lampin and Puma suede mode.
By the time 2001 rolled around things definitely changed. By this time I was in college, working, and determined to pick up this gem of a shoe I so desperately wanted as a kid and thats just what I did. Unlike my 01 True Blue 3’s these were in heavy rotation and held up quite well outside of some mean yellowing to the midsole.
Somewhere a long the line though Jordan Brand had developed a sort of disconnect as to how special this shoe in this color way really is. By 2008 we saw a black cement III that was not only cheaper looking with some fit issues but now a Jumpman Air on the back? What happened to Nike Air? It was reminiscent of all those fakes we in the shoe community had been witness to for years and now here it was on store shelves.
It would be only three years later that we would receive more of the same with most people just grinning and baring it. It was by this point I had become fed up. Why did such a great product I grew up with look like a cheap knock off? What was going on? It was at this point that I created a PETITION VIDEO TO BRING BACK NIKE AIR BRANDING TO THE JORDAN 1, 3,4,5 & 6
and thankfully Sneaker News
gave it some much needed publicity. It was only a year later after that petition that would see the Nike Air branding return to the Jordan III in white cement by way of a special 88 release. Fast forward 5 years later and here we are this time for the black cement color way not only with Nike Air branding
but in a full size run with the Nike branding for the kids (something we haven’t seen since the original 1988 release).
Re-live 1988 the right way this Saturday February 17th available via NIKE