隨著潮流人士們引頸期盼的 Off-White™ x Air Jordan 5 即將上市,Virgil Abloh 早先親自揭露了該雙鞋款的誕生過程。在與 Jordan Brand 的方談中,Virgil Abloh 表示 Michael Jordan 就是他的靈感來源,Virgil Abloh 說:
「MJ was a man who became a superhero. He was jumping from the free-throw line, winning six championships, doing the impossible. In design, I feel like I’m at my best if I can almost mirror how impossible those tasks were. …You could give a kid a bed sheet and tell them to fly. Or you could give them a replica of a superhero cape. They’re going to believe that they’re flying, even though, either way, it’s just fabric. That’s what Air Jordans are to me. Yes, they’re just shoes, but MJ was doing feats in them. If you give a pair of shoes to a kid, and tell them to jump from the free-throw line, that’s their superhero cape. That’s what I love. It’s about believing.”」
不過對於曾和 Jordan Brand 合作的初代「The Ten」系列的 Air Jordan I,Virgil Abloh 認為該鞋款的解構式設計已經是三年前的創意,對此它已經不感興趣了。也因此 Off-White™ x Air Jordan 5 才會以全新的方式呈現給世人。今回以 Virgil Abloh 父母送給他的第一雙 Jordan Brand 鞋款 Black Metallic Air Jordan 5 汲取靈感外,Virgil Abloh 亦試圖重新定義 Nike Air 的概念,Virgil Abloh 透過帶有洞口的 Air Jordan 5 來擴展他的設計流程,並表示「鞋款內外的空間將存在相同的空氣」,這也是為什麼鞋盒將會出現孔洞的原因,他希望能夠推出前所未有的全新 Nike「Air」球鞋。
包括 Off-White™ x Air Jordan 5 的 Jordan Chicago Collaborators’ Collection 別注系列預計將在 2 月 15 日正式推出,有興趣各位還請多加留意,屆時準時搶購。