1985 Air Jordan 1 Chicago Prototype with letter signed by Peter Moore... (Total: 2 Items)

Description

1985 Air Jordan 1 Chicago Prototype with letter signed by Peter Moore - Visionary

An inventive brand marketer who graduated from the Chouinard Art Institute. Peter Moore revolutionized the sneaker culture in the mid-1980s by designing the remarkably popular Nike Air Jordan 1 silhouette. Peter picked up Nike as a client of his design agency in 1977. During that time, he was responsible for most of Nike's collateral material, handling the displays, packaging, catalogs, and signs. Eventually, this led to him formally joining Nike as their first brand Creative Director in 1983. Moore had an enormous impact on the Jordan line; Moore had a prominent role in creating campaigns and designing logos, including co-designing the Wings Logo and the Jumpman logo with Bruce Kilgore.

The back story behind the inspiration for the wing logo was while boarding a flight; he noticed the flight attendant handing over a set of Captain's Wings to a youngster to wear on the flight home. Moore got a glimpse of this and was so inspired that he requested a set for himself; during the flight, Moore inspected the plastic Captain's Wings and designed the logo with the sketches on a United Airlines cocktail napkin.

The strategy in which placing the sneakers forward had never been done before at Nike, Moore linked the Air Jordan 1 to one player: Michael Jordan. "At the time it honestly broke all the rules for how our industry operated. Nobody had taken a player, created shoes and apparel that tied to his style, then launched it all once", Moore said in 'Peter Moore: A Portfolio' (1995).

Michael Jordan - Excellency

Michael Jordan personified greatness on the court, and redefined superstar athlete off it. Regarded by most as the NBA's greatest all-time player, with an extensive career highlights and awards to solidify his resume. Michael Jordan has won six NBA champions during his career, earning the NBA Most Valuable Player award five times, ten time scoring champion, and has accomplished so much more. Michael Jordan brought the NBA and basketball's popularity in general to new heights. His ability to soar to the basket and do things we'd never before seen captured the world's attention and helped make basketball more of a global sport than it had ever been.

Air Jordan 1 - Revolutionary

The first signature shoe for the greatest basketball player ever was released in 1985, which tied to Michael Jordan's rookie season in the NBA. The design of the Jordan 1 was rather simple and consistent with the other basketball shoes of the era but had elements that would make the silhouette iconic. Initially, Jordan was interested in signing with either Adidas or Converse because the soles for Nike's shoes were too thick; Peter Moore came to the rescue by tailoring the lower profile midsole to MJ's liking. Michael wanted to be closer to the floor, in order to achieve that, Peter had cut down the EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) foam in the forefoot, which made the shoe soles even harder, but it was what Jordan wanted. To further enhance comfortability, Moore implemented a premium leather upper that could provide a worn-in feel from the moment Jordan inserted his feet into the shoes. The shoes also featured a perforated toe box and a new traction pattern. Typically, the creation of a new shoe having the design finished and in the U.S. warehouse ready for shipping required 12 to 18 months, but the deadline for the Air Jordan 1 was 5 to 6 months.

Most hoop shoes in the early 1980s were a two-tone colorway that incorporated white or black and one of the team's colors. The Air Jordan 1 approach was to break some of the rules, utilizing three colors - white, black, and red, which were the colors of the Chicago Bulls. Initially, Jordan was appalled by the colorway and simply refused to wear the shoes stating, "those are the devil's colors," but was reminded that these were the Bulls official team colors. Michael Jordan laced up the Air Jordan 1 for the first time against Dr. J and the Philadelphia 76ers on November 17, 1984. Throughout this time, he was alternating shoes between the Air Ships and Air Jordan 1's for the remainder of the season.

Jordan took a chance and wore the black/red Air Jordan 1 during the All-Star Weekend's Slam Dunk Contest in February 1985. As the contest wasn't an official NBA game, Jordan got away with it. But after seeing the shoes, the NBA commissioner's office sent another letter on February 25, 1985, reminding Nike that Jordan couldn't wear the black/red colorway. Nike went on to mythologize these "banned" letters, generating hype for Air Jordan and even making an ad about the affair (yet failing to mention it was an Air Ship that had set things off). Nike capitalized on the opportunity to get an ad campaign that played on that forbidden fruit quality.

Nike originally released 13 colorways of the shoe. The famous "Banned," "Chicago," "Royal," "Black Toe," "Shadow," and "Carolina Blue" colorways, as well as a few iterations of the Metallic Colors and low tops. This would be the base for what the Air Jordan 1 would grow to become. After the initial release, eight years later, Nike decided to re-release some of the original colorways, but at that time, pairs weren't as successful as they anticipated for it to be. By 2001 that all changed; Jordan Brand brought back a couple of the classic colorways and began releasing limited pairs of new ones that took off.

Prototype - Development

The prototype is the preliminary model of what the Air Jordan 1 would eventually become; there are some noticeable differences between the prototypes and the retail version. The midsoles for the prototype are the mold of a Nike Dunk silhouette (which does not contain an air unit), and the Air Jordan 1 has an EVA-encased air unit.

The wings logo states " NIKE" instead of "Air Jordan," and the logo is not filled in, just outlined in black. The tongues on the prototypes display "NIKE," while the retail versions of the Air Jordan 1 state "NIKE AIR" on the tongue.

The quality of paint used for the prototypes on the white leather portions, such as the toe box and quarter panels, is cracking. While developing the shoes, the prototypes utilized a different kind of paint that was not applied to the final retail version.

The Prototypes are accompanied by a letter from Peter Moore, which gives context behind the design process and development of the Air Jordan 1s. This is a significant collector's piece, arguably one of the most iconic sneakers ever. The Prototype Air Jordan 1 with the letter from Peter Moore was showcased in the exhibition 'Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street' at the Design Museum in London. The exhibit focused on diving through the design process behind some of the most technical and inventive sneakers ever created. The exhibition highlights the most iconic collaborations and colorways that have shaped what the sneaker culture has grown to now. The Air Jordan 1 is credited as the catalyst for sneaker culture and is now seen as one of the most popular sneakers with a design that is appreciated among all generations.

Condition Rating: 2 - Please review the photos provided. Due to the shoes' age, a few minor flaws will be present. These are in remarkable condition for a 1985 shoe, and the pair have held up really well.

More Information: Condition Ratings:

1 – Brand New / Never Worn, shows little to no evidence of wear, minuscule factory defects, minimal signs of age.

2 – Brand New / Never Worn, shows little to no evidence of wear, slight factory defects, minor blemishes, discoloration or deterioration due to the age.

3 – Pre-Loved, gently worn with slight signs of wear. Please see the extended condition report for details.

4 – Pre-owned, shows signs of wear and regular use. Please see the extended condition report for details.



Heritage Auctions strives to provide as much information as possible but encourages in-person inspection by bidders as all items are sold in as-is condition. Statements regarding the condition objects are inly for general guidance, in conjunction with the high resolution, detailed images we provide online, and should not be relied upon as complete statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty or assumption of liability by Heritage. Please call or email the Sneakers department if additional information is needed to make an informed decision.




Any reference to gold or silver is an effort to describe the color and not meant to infer the type of metal unless stated specifically.