The reception to the recent collaboration between Air Jordan and Levi’s proves that sneaker culture is here to stay.
The first in a series of three pairs of Levi’s x Air Jordan 4s were released last week, and were available for purchase at select retailers. Priced at $225, the sneaker’s high cost didn’t stop sneaker heads from showing up to stores in droves: the crowd was so big outside Levis’ SoHo flagship location that the New York Police Department shut down the opening, according to highsnobiety.com.
Levi’s later addressed the incident on Instagram, saying in a post that the SoHo release was postponed “due to overwhelming demand and for the safety of our fans and store employees.” On the other side of the country, some paid up to $500 for people to hold their spot in lines outside the Levis’ San Francisco flagship store for up to three days. Highsnobiety.com reported that lines filled with tents and folding chairs stretched for multiple city blocks.
This design was much more experimental than the first collaboration between the two brands, a rework of the Air Jordan 1 Mid back in 2008, and it gives the Air Jordan 4 a completely new look. Put simply, the new sneakers are the classic Air Jordan 4 silhouette made with dark blue denim instead of leather. The devil is in the details, however, and if you take a closer look, the sneaker is extraordinarily different from its predecessor.
The tongue features Levi’s signature paper label, which says the sneaker’s size and style. But unlike the label you’d find on a pair of Levi’s jeans, the one on the sneakers displays the Air Jordan logo. Even though most of the denim on the upper part of the shoe is standard blue denim, the shoe is highlighted by reverse denim in certain spots, creating the look of a cuffed pair of jeans. No Levi’s product is complete without its trademark red tab, which is placed on the outer corner next to the laces.
According to Stock X, a sneaker valuation and pricing website, the Levi’s x Air Jordan 4 was No. 3 on their Most Popular list at the time of publication. This is the first non-Yeezy sneaker to be among the top three most popular in months. Just hours after their launch, pairs of Levi’s x Air Jordan 4s were reselling for above $1,000 — quadruple their retail price. While the shoe is not likely to dethrone Yeezys, a popularity nearing theirs is a rare accomplishment.
The Levi’s x Air Jordan 4s were released with a limited-edition reversible trucker jacket, which is sold separately. While not in as high demand as the sneakers, the jacket added even more hype to an already popular release and built excitement for the other sneakers to come. The following two installments in the collection — black on black and white on white — will retail for $225 as well, and their respective release dates are not yet determined at the time of publication.
The release of these Jordans marked a fresh start to 2018 for sneakerheads tired of Yeezys and the popularity of the shoes signal that the release of the rest of the collection is something to watch for in the coming months.