The Air Jordan 36 Is Officially Unveiled

Despite having retired from the sport in 2003, Michael Jordan remains committed to the game of basketball, as demonstrated by his innovation-focused Air Jordan line. For its latest entry, the Air Jordan 36 (XXXVI), the highly-successful series has decided to shed materials as it’s been inspired by various meanings of the word “light.”

Material-wise, the newest Jordans introduces a jacquard leno-weave that enables a lightweight, breathable and flexible arrangement without sacrificing support where it’s needed. The see-through aesthetic of the twisted warp yarns allows light and color to shine through the sneaker, creating a new design language along the way, and boasting light as a defining quality of the upper.

The concept of “light” also informed the Jordan 36‘s cushioning setup. Informed by the two signature models immediately before it, the most recent style features the most Zoom Air coverage of any signature shoe ever produced by Jordan Brand. As with some propositions under the Nike Basketball banner, a full-length Zoom Air Strobel unit has been stitched directly to the pair’s top-half. This approach minimizes obstruction between foot and cushioning, while also allowing for an additional forefoot Zoom Airbag for enhanced responsiveness. The multi-directional traction pattern unlocks the quickness, change of direction and control made possible by the innovation in Air manufacturing packed into #23’s newest shoe. The Eclipse Plate also returns on this design, further unlocking performance benefits for the likes of Jayson Tatum, Satou Sabally, Kia Nurse and Luka Dončić.

“We weren’t focused on exposing the [Zoom Air] bags anymore,” said Jordan Brand Footwear Designer, Tate Keurbis. “We wanted to connect the ribbon and cover up the plate system. In doing so, we brought in subtle details from the Air Jordan [6] and created a tooling that conveys Michael’s lasting influence in worldwide culture.”

(The infinity symbol found at the lateral ankle and in the form of the midsole’s foam ribbon design play into MJ’s lasting legacy.)

Various in-line and player-inspired colorways of the AJ XXXVI will be available globally and in specific regions from today until mid-September. Enjoy a closer look at the model’s inaugural lineup here below, and anticipate select pairs to hit Nike.com over the aforementioned period of time.

For more from under the NIKE, Inc. banner, check out the seven sacai LDWaffle collaborations expected to launch before 2021 ends.

Images: Nike News