Air Jordan 2010

The team who brought you the Air Jordan 20 (Air Jordan XX), Tinker Hatfield and Mark Smith, paired up again for the 25th Air Jordan (designated the Air Jordan 2010), which featured Smith’s laser detailing (of a truncated Jordan commercial mantra, repeated on the inner lining) on the midsole and another eye-opening Hatfield designed upper. The somewhat conventional midcut design was fitted with literal windows that allowed you to see straight through the shoe. The perforated TPU material also provided some structure to the upper, but it was the look that hit first.

The concept behind the design was the fact that Jordan would only allow opponents see what he wanted them to see — that they couldn’t see everything. It also gave a peek at the Carolina-blue Ortholite insole padding, a fortuitous design note and a nod back to Jordan’s Tar Heel roots. Bottom-loaded, full-length Zoom Air paired with toploaded heel and forefoot Zoom provided the most luxurious of rides, while an independent toe cap design taken from running shoes provided both protection and extreme flexibility.

2010 also represented a new dawn for players for Jordan Brand, as Chicago product Dwyane Wade moved over from fellow Nike subsidiary Converse. Wade shared more than a city and position with Jordan, having already been an NBA champion and Finals MVP. And while the spectre of Jordan as player still loomed large when it came to product design, having a real-life All-Star in his prime like Wade to design for simplified things greatly. It didn’t hurt that the Heat guard—like Harold Miner before him—could just as easily wear Chicago colors.

The 2010 was eventually produced in both Team and Outdoor guises, both without the porthole windows, the latter featuring Air Jordan 8 (VIII)-like criss-crossing straps as well as more rugged rubber to withstand the pounding of playground ball.