The Dior x Air Jordan 1 is the Most Luxe Sneaker Ever
Did you manage to cop the x ? (Cue the canned laughter)
The ongoing symphony between sneakers and high fashion finally reached a crescendo this year with the release of the Dior x Air Jordan 1.
The so-called ‘Diordan’ induced a kind of feverish, hand-trembling hype that’s only really analogous to the freewheeling JACKBOYS in 2020 (Interestingly, Dior also tapped to promote the colab).
people boarded the hype train to enter the raffle. Five. Million. That’s roughly the population of Singapore.
So, what is it about the Dior x Air Jordan 1 that’s sending the sneakersphere into a spin?
Well, for one thing, it’s luxe. It’s luxe AF.
U N O B T A I N I U M
The Diordan is undeniably, impossibly pretty. Blessed by Michael Jordan himself, the silhouette was manufactured in Italy with Dior Gray leather, the subtle hand-painted shade that pays homage to one of Christian Dior’s most loved hues.
Originally unveiled during Dior’s pre-fall 2020 runway show in Miami, the Dior x Air Jordan 1 is the silhouette’s first luxury link up in its 35-year history. And the project couldn’t have been in better hands.
Setting out to create ‘the most luxurious Air Jordan’ of all time, the Diordan is essentially a love letter penned by Kim Jones, and you’ll be hard-pressed to question the integrity of the streetwear trailblazer.
Jones bought his first pair of Jordans by pooling money together with two friends, the three of them agreeing to a weekly ‘rotation’ of sorts. He is the owner of over 40 Air Jordan 1s, and astutely follows every manoeuvre made in the Jumpman hangar.
Ahead of the launch, Jones said, ‘I love mixing together different worlds, different ideas. The Jordan Brand and Dior are both emblematic of absolute excellence in their fields.’
Indeed, no other recent mashup between streetwear and luxury even comes close to the flight path charted by Jones and the Jumpman.
While it’s a bit rough to compare anything to a release that attracted five million raffle entries, it’s fair to say that the recent x didn’t quite enjoy the same spotlight as the Diordan, nor did the polarising x . Looking further back, the x link up seemed to be more about the hype generated from two heavyweight brands joining forces than the actual designs that dropped.
Hype Never Dies
Not long ago, Sneaker Freaker about the end of hype. Boy, don’t we look foolish now. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, Dior managed to generate the kind of manic obsession that seems entirely removed from the broader economic downturn.
If anything, the Dior x Air Jordan 1 tells us one thing: Hype never dies.
Hell, we’ll still be digging through the scorched earth of a nuclear apocalypse looking for the pair of Jays we left somewhere near the obliterated backdoor.
And, you know what? We wouldn’t have it any other way.
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