How Jordan Brand Re-Created the 1985 Air Jordan 1

This month, Jordan Brand will be bringing back the popular Air Jordan 1 High in its original form starting with the new "Varsity Red" colorway arriving tomorrow as well as the "New Beginnings" pack dropping next week, but how much did go into re-creating one of the most iconic sneakers ever?

According to the brand, some of the steps taken by its design team include dissecting one of the original Jordan 1s from '85 piece-by-piece, consulting with '80s-era footwear developers that worked in the factories as well as taking a deep dive into Nike Department of Archives.

Some of the points of emphasis for the latest variation focused on shape, materials and construction, which ranged from collar height to leather thickness and the sidewall texture pattern on the outsole (which had to be hand-drawn to properly re-create).

For the true sneaker enthusiasts who want to know what measures it took for the brand to achieve the build of the Air Jordan 1 High '85, check out the process below.

(Top: 2020's Air Jordan 1 High '85/Bottom: 1985 Air Jordan 1 High): The original midsole from '85 had to be hand-tooled, which often resulted in pattern irregularities. That process was re-created digitally in the new version, which required each pattern to be drawn and scanned to give it the same effect.

(Top: 2020's Air Jordan 1 High '85/Bottom: 1985 Air Jordan 1 High): Similar to the Jordan Wings logo, the famous Nike Swoosh logo has seen a variety of updates. To match the style from '85, the logo features a slight separation between the Swoosh and Nike text.

The design team re-created the original hangtag by using only digital references including hand-drawn details.