The 10 Most Outrageous Air Jordan Designs

An axiom that Tinker Hatfield repeats often is that if people don't either love or hate your design — if it doesn't polarize people immediately — then you haven't really created anything. The source is unknown, but the results are something you see every single day. Nearly every Air Jordan, whether designed by Hatfield or not, has been met with strong reactions. And with the introduction of the Air Jordan XX8, we went back through all 28 and picked out The 10 Most Outrageous Air Jordan Designs. Let us know what you think.

Year: 2012
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

Two words: Modular wingtips. Tinker Hatfield and Tom Luedecke expanded on the Air Jordan 2011's interchangeable midsole concept by creating an entire system for the Air Jordan 2012. This shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise, since Luedecke also worked on the technically similar Kobe VII. But it was the upper where things diverged. Inspired by jazz era zoot suits, Hatfield turned out a retro-inspired brogued upper that served as a jarring counterpoint to the modern underpinnings.

Year: 1992
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

Anyone who'd followed the Air Jordan line from the inception should have been used to Tinker Hatfield switching gears, but his jump from the minimalist Air Jordan VII to the plush VIII was like going straight from second to fifth. Where the Huarache-inspired VII subtracted all that was unnecessary, the VIII seemed to put it all back - and more. Cross-straps, a carpeted tongue patch, a heavily padded ankle area, it went against all the design principles established by its predecessor. Minimalism would eventually win out, but the outlier VIII remains beloved.

Year: 2009
Lead Designer: Jason Mayden

An Air Jordan inspired by fencing - no matter the result, it wasn't going to be typical. Jason Mayden used unique materials to craft his unique vision, with sharply creased silk on the upper and blown "glass" in the midsole. Much of the technology was new too, with a proper stacked heel giving the shoe an even more formal look. Reactions were decidedly mixed, and virtually none of the 2009's genes were passed down to the 2010.

Year: 2005
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

What do you do for the 20th version of the signature shoe for the most famous athlete on the planet? For starters, you bring back designer Tinker Hatfield, who'd been off the full-time Air Jordan beat since 1999's Air Jordan XV. Then you make sure the storytelling can't be missed. Hatfield had some of his longest conversations with Jordan since they started collaborating in the late '80s, and the most important details were turned into laser-inscribed designs by co-creator Mark Smith. More room was provided by a massive forefoot strap, and additional support was given by a free-floating ankle strap that looked like something swiped from a surfboard. No, Mike don't surf.

Year: 1988
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

Maybe the design of the Air Jordan III doesn't seem terribly outrageous now, seeing that it's been relentessly strip-mined over the past quarter-century, but in 1988 it was something totally new. Yes, there had been 3/4 cut basketball shoes before, but none quite like the all-new Air Jordan, which introduced both elephant print and Visible Air to the line. Tinker Hatfield's first Air Jordan design also debuted the Jumpman logo, which took a place of honor on the tongue.

Year: 2013
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

The fact that Jordan was able to keep the Air Jordan XX8 - right down to the proper nomenclature - under wraps up until they were ready to reveal it to the world was amazing enough. Add in the fact that it's the lightest Air Jordan ever and has the appearance of a high-tech ninja boot, and the secrecy is all the more remarkable. Then again, for a stealth-inspired shoe, what could have been more appropriate? For naysayers who feel that the whole shroud thing has been done and overdone since 1997's Air Zoom Flight. just recognize that none of those prior designs were from the mind of Tinker Hatfield.

Year: 1999
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

If there's any one Tinker Hatfield Air Jordan that still has people scratching their heads, it's the XV. Based on equal parts X15 rocket plane and Prada Sport shoe, the XV was the first Air Jordan that Mike wouldn't play in since the IX - and this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Following the sleek, Ferrari-inspired AJXIV, the XV was a bit clunky and awkward. The full-length lacing seemed to go too far down, the ridged rubber external heel counter was a bit too big, the Jordan's-tongue-inspired tongue a bit too literal. The black-and-red scheme worked - doesn't it always? - but the adventurous design may have been a bit too far ahead of its time.

Year: 1985
Lead Designer: Peter Moore

Had the original Air Jordan just been produced in white and black or white and red, there's no way it would have landed on this list. And there's no saying how it would have affected the explosive growth of the Air Jordan line. But since the first shoe was offered in black and red, like no basketball shoe before it, the whole sneaker industry (and for that matter, the whole NBA) had to change as a result. The well-publicized fines Jordan and the Bulls received for his simply wearing the shoe in games are proof enough of the outrage.

Year: 2010
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

The Air Jordan 2010 was an amazing performance shoe, fitted as it was with bottom-loaded Zoom Air and a fully disarticulated toebox that did wonders for flex. But that's not what anyone saw. Tinker Hatfield exposed the innards of the shoe via clear TPU portholes on either side, deciding to take a most literal interpretation of Jordan's tendency to allow opponents to see only what he wanted them to. Next to that rather jarring element, everything else was just details.

Year: 1996
Lead Designer: Tinker Hatfield

The story has been told so many times that even it's not surprising anymore. But it's always worth a re-telling. Following Michael Jordan's first retirement in 1993, Tinker Hatfield just kept designing. He did other work for Nike, of course, but most of all he kept pushing the limits of the Air Jordan. And by the time he started work on what would become the Air Jordan XI, the powers-that-be at Nike were beginning to wonder why. Even they didn't think Jordan was coming back. But Hatfield didn't give up hope, and he didn't give up on the Air Jordan XI. Good thing. Jordan of course returned, and the Air Jordan XI became one of the most revolutionary shoes in Nike's history. The spatted design is still as elegant today as it was then, the carbon fiber plate became a high-tech Nike basketball shoe standard, and patent leather found its way onto hundreds upon hundreds of shoes where it had no business being. The Air Jordan XI alone utilized it for both function and flash. Entire design courses could be taught on this shoe alone.