After a funny teaser video that included Nike influencers Sean Wotherspoon and Emily Oberg, Los Angeles boutique Union has unveiled its entire Union Jordan Flight Collection.
To tease the upcoming vintage-inspired Union Air Jordan 1 builds — the blue/white base with the black/red collar is a Union exclusive — the shop put the shoes on display at the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, California. The Internets appeared to love the stunt as it naturally drew interest and got fans talking.
Union is currently operated by Chris Gibbs, who took over from Union founders Mary Ann Fusco and James Jebbia. Gibbs penned an open letter to unveil the Union Jordan Flight Collection and in it he explains the collab’s inspiration.
“The inspiration behind the Union and Jordan collection was really ‘What would I want from Jordan?’ In particular I really wanted to make apparel as, I find too often people only do [shoes] when they do collaborations like this, but I felt like this really only allows one to tell half the story and I wanted to tell the whole story,” wrote Gibbs. “Futhermore, I know that Jordan Brand is first and foremost a sports apparel and footwear company and they are the best at that. But I feel like there is an under current, at least in “streetwear” of people who wear Brand Jordan outside of [its] intended purpose. More as a fashion statement and less as the utilitarian purpose. It’s this space that the Union collaboration is intended to occupy.”
Gibbs chose the Air Jordan 1 because of its timeless look and emphasized that “vintage never dies” by creating a collection through a vintage lens. The shoes are made to look weathered and worn with yellowed soles and leather. Then, the brand stitched different uppers and bases from iconic Air Jordan 1 builds “to make it look as though some kid might have fixed and restitched the shoes throughout the years,” says Gibbs.
The apparel collection is also meant to have a patina look and that is achieved through a heavy wash treatment. “The whole collection looks and feels timeless and that was what we were going for. Everything is pretty true to size, except for the sweatpants which are oversized. But we did play with the silhouettes to make sure everything had a natural ‘drape’ to it,” said Gibbs in his statement.
The entire Union Jordan Flight Collection releases on November 17 at unionjordan.com (FCFS) and via local L.A. raffles on November 10 and 11 (locations TBD). No pricing information has been announced, but rumors say the Union Air Jordan 1 builds will retail for $190 each.
Source: unionjordan.com
