Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'UNC' Sample
Colorway: White/Dark Powder Blue-Cone · Style code: AQ0818-148-S · Release date: May 23, 2018 · Price: $1500 · Availability: Available now
More colorways: Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'White' 2018 (AQ0818-100) · Off-White x Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'UNC' (AQ0818-148) · Jordan Lift Off Sneakers (AR4430-101) · Jordan Zion 3 Sanctuary Sneakers in Offin White/Off White/Pink Foam (DV3869-103) · OFF x Jordan Hoodie (DM0059-054)
This was the third Air Jordan 1 Virgil Abloh made with Nike, following the deconstructed white pair from the original ten-shoe project and the black version that came after it. The colour is the reference: Carolina blue, for the university Michael Jordan played at before he was drafted, on a model that only ever wore Chicago red as an original. The construction is Abloh's usual argument made out loud: leather cut back to expose a mesh layer beneath, a Swoosh stitched on as though provisionally, orange thread at the stress points, a zip tie left attached, text printed on the midsole including a line reading 'for red carpet only', and a small 85 behind the heel marking the rookie season the shoe belongs to. The retail release in May 2018 was among the most heavily contested of the year. A sample pair sits outside all of that: a production or approval piece rather than a retail unit, usually differing in small details from what eventually shipped.