Air Jordan
XVIII (18)
Head Designer: Tate Kuerbis
Michael played on for the Wizards, but
his knee didn't quite hold up for all
the games. He returned by the end of the
season though and ended his career on
April 16th 2003 against the 76ers. This
time I think we can say with certainty
that he's not coming back again...
New head designer
Creator of the design of the XVIII was
Tate Kuerbis (Jordan Senior Footwear Designer).
A person that had been part of the Jordan
footwear design team since 1999 and with
Nike since 1995. The inspiration of the
design is a combination fo a number of
things; Sleek racing lines of the auto
world, Carbon fiber-based monocoque of
F1 race cars, Race car driving shoes (rubber
heel wrap) and Fine Italian dress shoes
(bold stitching on the soles).
What's next?
With the XVII's having had a briefcase
and a CD-rom the big question was how
the XVIII's could possibly match this.
"What is next?" was the big
question for all the sneakerfreaks out
there.
The XVIII's was no disappointment. With
a new Jordan box with a nice cut out 18
with foil behind it and a new pull-out
opening the box itself was just SUPER!
Ok, it wasn't a briefcase, but c'mon I'd
rather pay $175 than $200 for AJ's.
Brush and towel
In the package there was also a brush
(black suede hi-tops) and a towel included.
A great set of tools that simplifies the
cleaning of the shoes.
.5
Both the XVI's and the XVII's had a modified
model called "+". With the XVIII's
this was taken a little bit further and
a 18.5 was released. The design was pretty
similar but the lace cover was lifted
off and the Jumpman was brought forward
on the side of the shoe. The 18.5 also
featured a plastic pants leg-stopper with
the years 1985-2003 written on them. |
