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Release Reminder: Jordan 2009

Joe — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:32:35 +0000

Tomorrow marks the release of the first colorway of the Air Jordan 2009. This black/metallic gold colorup of the sneaker that takes inspiration from fencing will be a tough get, only releasing to select stores (we hear 23 pairs to 23 select stores). If the hunt wasn’t enough to make you go nuts, once you do track them down, you’ll have to shell out a hefty $230 to take them home.

Also, if you haven't already, check out our in-depth interview with the designer of the 2009 series, Jason Mayden, where he breaks down the process and inspiration for the sneakers.

Photos: Michael Jordan Unveils The Jordan 2009

Joe — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 18:06:38 +0000

Yesterday, the media, a sneaker designer, a P.R team, an Olympic Gold Medalist and… a sharp-dressed Michael Jordan packed a chic room at NYC's Event Space on 26th street for the unveiling of the Jordan 2009. The latest model in the revolutionary sneaker line was designed by homegrown Chicagoan Jason Mayden (check out our in-depth interview with Jason about the shoe), and incorporates inspiration from a number of things, with a surprising focus on the defense and striking tactics used in the sport Fencing. Complex was there to witness the event, and we came back with plenty of pictures…

All Photos by Rochelle Morton

After an inspirational speech by gold medalist and world recorder holder April Holmes about her perseverance in sprinting while being a paralympian, Mayden and the master of ceremonies Jordan talked about the legacy of the Jordan brand, how the Jordan 2009 caters to the needs of on-court athletes, and touched on the long back-and-forth about what this latest model would be called. “23 is my number, 24 would diminish what that meant. 23 started a whole different legacy, I felt 24 would demean the 23 because it [23] was such a synonymous number for our shoes,” Jordan said. When we asked president of Jordan Brand Keith Houlemard what the name of next year's Jordan would be, he said, “If I was a betting man, the Jordan 2010 would probably be the safe bet.” The first release of the Jordan 2009 is on January 31.

Designer Jason Mayden Breaks Down The Jordan 2009

Bradley — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 17:01:25 +0000

Complex got a chance to catch up with Jason Mayden, Senior Footwear Designer for the Jordan Brand. This guy is awesome. He’s essentially been a Jordan nut since 4th grade, calculating every step of his life to get to this point: designing the new Jordan sneaker. We sat down with the new shoe, the Jordan 2009, and Jason talked us through the whole thing.

It’s a long interview, but we’re pretty sure we hit on every piece of the design behind the shoe. Check the full Q&A below (broken down in categories if you want to jump around). The Jordan 2009 LE (black/gold) drops January 31st, the General release (white/black) drops All-Star Weekend, February 14th…

Interview by Bradley Carbone

Complex: So Jason. Where do we start? Why you? How do you get to be the next guy to do a Jordan snaker?

Jason Mayden: Well, I'll give you the abridged version, so I don't have to go into the long story where we cry and everyone comes out and hugs and stuff. Every footwear designer's dream is to do the Air Jordan, so there is a lot of competition to get in there. The place is a proving ground, so I got in there and just started taking all the jobs nobody else wanted to do. I did the grunt work. I started at Jordan as an intern, and my first assignment was to design shoelaces. It was a joke job, but I took it extremely seriously. I did about 30 or 40 pages of different shoelace sketches, like lace tips, different ways you could lace shoes, everything. I did way too much work for the project, but they saw that I took my internship seriously and that I really wanted to be there, so I got an in.

Complex: Your Jordan internship came after design school?

Jason Mayden: Yes, I did the full college design school thing, but everything I've ever done since'I wanna say about 4th grade'has been geared towards designing the Air Jordan. Every single decision, people that I have befriended, shoes that I strategically wore to school to get attention, just all types of things. I grew up in Chicago on the South Side so Jordan, and the Jordan brand, has been a part of my life. It's bigger than me just doing this shoe.

Complex: Wow. That is awesome.

Jason Mayden: Yeah. Growing up I wrote a lot of letters to Nike. I would read names in articles, and then I would just call up the Headquarters over there and pretend that I knew them, just to get in the system any way that I could. This was before the Internet when you could just Google a name or something like that. I'd call and say, “Hey remember me?” They'd say, “No” and would hang up, but I would still get a few minutes just to pick their brain, ask them questions.

Complex: Most people we talk to don’t have such raw enthusiasm. We often speak with a lot of “Too cool for school” design folk. It's cool to hear your enthusiasm for the project, and the brand.

Jason Mayden: Well, when I got the internship my main goal was to one day do this shoe. I just got in there and grinded, did the things no one else wanted to do, did the dirty work, and learned everything. All of the side jobs taught me the fundamentals of footwear design. I learned about foot morphology, biomechanics, manufacturing, materials standards, graphic design, package design, footwear design, industrial design, product design. All these different things went into preparing me to design this type of product.

Complex: Can you take us through the shoe itself? What are the key elements? There's a lot of stuff going on with this shoe, but can you can talk us through the obvious visual cues and maybe some things people wouldn't notice at first glance?

Jason Mayden: Aight. I'mma give you my best Vanna White so I'll hold it like this.

Complex: Haha

Click NEXT to see Jason break down the makeup of the new Jordan