The Nike Air Ship: how a black and red sneaker became legendary

Basketball wizard, living sports legend, six-time NBA champion, style icon, five-time Most Valuable Player of the NBA, Space Jam star – Michael Jordan. You’ve heard of him.

His nickname’s nearly as famous: Air Jordan. Not only does it honour the 1-metre 98 icon himself, a whole universe of Nike sports and streetwear items is dedicated to him under the moniker. T-shirts, sweaters, track pants, caps, socks and, of course, the infamous Air Jordan sneakers. But did you know that the iconic collaboration between Jordan and Nike started with a completely different pair of sneakers? One that was banned by the NBA.

5,000 dollar fine for a black and red shoe

In the 1980s, the NBA mandated a dress code, the so-called Uniform Uniformity Rules. In order to maintain visual conformity, all players had to wear their jerseys and white sneakers. Small colour accents on the shoes were allowed, yes. As long as they could still be identified as white at first glance.

But when Michael Jordan took the court for the Chicago Bulls in his rookie season in October 1984, he didn’t care. He’d just signed a contract with Nike, donning the Air Ships. In black and red.

«It would have been a special make up,» Nike’s then-Creative Director Peter Moore reveals in an interview with Complex. «And they might have made, say, 25 pairs or something only for him.»

While such a special release would likely degenerate into massive hype, a strictly limited collection and the hottest of raffles today, it brought only one consequence in 1984: the wrath of the NBA. The National Basketball Association is, in fact, very ticked off that rookie Jordan doesn’t want to abide by its rules. A written warning for Jordan himself and Rob Strasser, then Marketing Vice President at Nike, would follow: the black and red shoe was banned from the court, and if Michael Jordan dared to wear it again, he’d face a fine of (allegedly) 5,000 US dollars.

Nike pays. Multiple times. And Jordan continues to wear the forbidden footwear.

The legend of the banned sneaker

Never heard of Nike Air Ships, despite all the fuss? Understandable. They had only come onto the market that year, 1984. And while at that time it was the best Nike had to offer in the basketball shoe sector, it was just a placeholder until the release of the long-planned Air Jordan 1 for MJ.

In 1985, the Air Jordan 1 saw the light of day and began its legacy as the most legendary shoe of all time. With an advertising campaign that practically wrote itself. Nike used the scandal and the narrative surrounding the banned colour combination as a marketing ploy. One 33-second spot later, an icon was born.

Revolutionary, banned, iconic. As enthusiastically as hype surrounding the Air Jordans began, the Air Ships quickly slipped into their shadow and were forgotten. There hasn’t even been a re-release of these truly meaningful sneakers in their banned colour combination. And if you’re wondering what happened to the 25 or so original pairs of black and red Air Ships, Peter Moore was wondering along with you. The banned sneaker is still a mystery.

This article was published as part of our Focus Week dedicated to the colour red. Seven days, seven stories. Read more about our red-themed week and all the articles published so far here: