About

Air Jordan 1 Mid

A slightly awkward truth up front: the Mid is not a retro. The original from 1985 was a high-top, drawn by Peter Moore for Michael Jordan.

Part of why the shoe became legendary is due to a dress code. At the time the NBA required basketball shoes to be predominantly white and match the team uniform. Jordan’s Nikes did not comply. Nike ignored that and then turned it into an ad campaign — the violation as a selling point. Whether this concerned the Air Jordan 1 itself is debatable: Jordan was likely still wearing the Air Ship then, because his own model wasn’t ready. Few shoes have a better birth certificate.

The Mid came later. A derivative, purists say, and they turn up their noses. Meanwhile this is the model you see everywhere. In the subway, on the schoolyard, under a suit. The monster no one notices anymore, precisely because it’s always there.

Look at the collar, not the height

“‘It’s just lower’ is the lazy observation. Put a Mid next to a High and look at the construction. The High has a separate ankle flap you can fold open; the Mid has a closed, padded cuff that is attached to the upper. One piece. No flap. That moves the Wings logo: on the High it sits on that flap, on the Mid it’s on the heel panel. The Low leaves the ankle completely free. Three shoes, one silhouette, three different beasts.

What you see when you pick it up

The panel construction, just like in 1985: a separate toe cap with that perforated pattern for ventilation, a mid panel over which the Swoosh lies, a firmly formed heel piece. The Air-Sole is tucked under the heel — you don’t see it, you feel it. Beneath that a cupsole with visible stitching. No scales like on the Air Jordan 3, where the elephant print does the work, but clean leather that holds its shape.

The workhorse of the Jordan 1 family

That closed cuff makes getting in and out quicker than with a High, while keeping your ankle enclosed. It’s the least idolized Jordan 1 and at the same time the most worn. Not every monster has to stomp through Tokyo; some just come along every day.

On this page you can see which versions of the Air Jordan 1 Mid are hottest right now according to the Hypescore, the starting prices, and how many shops have them in stock.