The Air Jordan V is the ultimate representation of flight, on and off the court.
Source: Nike News – Air Jordan V: Five For Fall
Jordan Brand has been on a slide lately, or has it? I think in the sneaker world we have become so used to a shoe dropping and selling out immediately we failed to realize that the reason Jordan Brand always sold out was because of scarcity. Nike and Jordan Brand no longer adhere to the limited release on GRs. There are always enough shoes to go around now. This has led to the perception that things are looking bad for the legendary JB.
The reality is that all shoes, almost all of them sit on the shelves and are eventually marked down in some fashion when they are produced in enough numbers that the primary market can get a pair. This doesn’t mean that Jordan Brand is no longer hot or dying. It simply means that Nike has effectively regained control of a market that was full of complaints from its most loyal fans. The problem here is that the fans are fickle and now that they have what they want, they don’t want it anymore… well not in the same way.
How does Jordan rectify the problem of perception? They go back to the well and it’s the perfect time for the V to be on the menu. Last year the Retro 4 made it’s return with a number of styles dropping. Dunk From Above and the Alternate 89 dropped along with the white/cement classic with Nike Air, but there were also Retro 5s and they didn’t shine the way anyone thought. That was probably due to the 220.00 dollar price attached to the Black metallic Vs.
Jordan Brand looks to be getting it right this time around with several unique colorways celebrating the theme of Flight. Interestingly enough these all new colorways are doing a great job of capturing the retro style of previous models and colorways. In the all red Flight, there is a hint of the very successful Toro Bravo V. In the blue there is a hint of the Retro 12 Royal and PSNY versions of the 12. In the White Cement the classic Cement 4 is represented and then Jordan goes hard after a very limited release in the Supreme 5 with the Camo Retro V Flight.
The Pinnacle version will drop soon after the West, but I don’t expect this to be a big GR release. This will definitely be limited to top Tier accounts and possibly HOH. The problem is people simply aren’t dropping the bills on Jordan Brand premium shoes unless it has an OVO attached to it.
Will these Vs reignite that passion for Jordan Brand that has gone missing in the past two years? That is to be seen. What is noticeable is that Jordan Brand is officially giving the people what they want… kind of.