An Off-White x Air Jordan 1 sample has surfaced that had never been documented before. It's an Air Jordan 1 High OG in 'Black/Lightning' from 2018. Notably, this Off-White x Air Jordan 1 sample is missing even from the Virgil Abloh Archive.
@ryancooper___
Collector @ryancooper___ shared the pair on Instagram. According to him, only three were made. Don't expect a release: this design never made it to stores.
The design follows the familiar Off-White formula, just darker. Black covers most of the upper. Lightning yellow returns on the ankle, the laces, the outsole and the oversized Swoosh, which is stitched on with blue thread. You'll also spot white contrast stitching, 'AIR' on the midsole, Off-White text on the medial side and a small orange heel tab.
The extras give away its sample status too: a 'SAMPLE' stamp on the inner heel, two sample tags and a sample bag. On top of that come three extra sets of laces in blue, orange and grey.
@ryancooper___
Virgil Abloh and Jordan Brand
Most of you probably know the success story of Virgil Abloh's Off-White and Jordan Brand already. Still, let's take a quick look back together.
In 2017, Off-White founder Virgil Abloh turned the sneaker world upside down with The Ten. Ten Nike silhouettes were cut open and rebuilt, with exposed stitching, loose Swooshes and text in quotation marks. The Air Jordan 1 in 'Chicago' became the face of that collection. A telling detail: the shoe was originally meant to be all white, but Abloh felt it looked too much like a white Nike Dunk.
The white version arrived anyway in 2018, alongside the powder-blue 'UNC'. From there the partnership moved on to other models: the Air Jordan 5 in 'Muslin' and 'Sail', the women's Air Jordan 4 'Sail' and, in 2021, the Air Jordan 2 Low. Every release became an event in its own right.
Abloh passed away on 28 November 2021, aged 41. Since then, fans have read every Off-White pair as a piece of his legacy, and that story continues, as the Air Jordan 1 High 'Alaska' showed. That's exactly why an unknown Off-White x Air Jordan 1 sample like this draws so much attention. It's a design from the period when Abloh gave the Jordan 1 a new face, and it stayed out of sight all these years.
You can't buy this Off-White x Air Jordan 1 sample in a store. Looking for an Air Jordan 1 for your own rotation? Check out the current range at Nike.
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