Lost and Found: The newest Air Jordan 1 Chicago
Courtesy of Getty Images
Written By: Elizabeth York
When you picture a pair of Jordans, you’re most likely picturing the classic high top silhouette of the Air Jordan 1, and more often than not for sneaker lovers, that image is going to come in the classic red and black Chicago colorway. First released in 1985, the OG shoe was rocked by rookie Michael Jordan as he played on the Chicago Bulls. Moving forward, this shoe was rereleased in 1994 as an OG retro paying homage to Jordan’s initial retirement, and again as a slightly altered retro sneaker in 2013. The OG retro was rereleased in 2015, and remains a highly sought after version with resales currently above $1,000.
In 2017, Virgil released a collaboration with Jordan reimagining the Chicago 1 in Off-White fashion. Proclaimed by some to be 2017 sneaker of the year, this release continued the hype of this iconic sneaker. Today you can typically find this sneaker for resale in the range of $5,000-8,000, in spite of its retail price of $190. The Chicago 1 is once again set to re-release on November 19th for $180, and is the most anticipated sneaker drop of 2022. Dubbed the ‘lost and found,’ the 2022 version is a more vintage take on the sneaker, packaged in a beat up box with cracked leather and an off white midsole. The box includes stickers with the original $65 price tag, and a ‘handwritten’ receipt.
As a lowkey sneaker reseller (sorry), I have been super excited for this release. Being 7 years since the last retro release of the Chicago colorway, every sneaker head is going to want to get their hands on these shoes. The resale is no doubt going to be insane; they are already going for over double on resale sites now. Even with the rumored volume increase for this shoe compared to normal Jordan drops, I expect the resale price to greatly increase following release as unlucky fans still look to get their hands on this new rendition. As select lucky people already have the sneaker and have been showing it off online, some have been criticizing how Nike is paying homage to mom and pop stores through the old fashioned receipt in the packaging. Larger corporations such as Nike have led to the closure of many small sneaker stores like these were once sold in, so people are finding it ironic that Nike is celebrating them. Others are saying that they wished Nike was releasing an undistressed sneaker, but I think that's one of the charms of this release. It is definitely with the times as many high-end designers have been releasing pre-distressed sneakers, such as Balenciaga and Gucci. I also think this may promote buyers to wear these and care less about keeping them pristine, which is one of the problems with Jordan fans today. This is an extremely notable release in the history of Jordan, and I’m excited to see how they are received once more people get their hands on them and how they do in resale post-release.
Check out our gallery of curated images of these iconic sneakers pre-re-release.
