It took a minute, but Nike and Jordan are finally going all in on women’s sneakers. Jordan kicked off 2018 in a major way with a three silhouette collection titled “Season of Her,“which included a collection of Retro 1 silhouettes offered in an array of pastel colorways (shown above). As well, Jordan and Nike have announced plans for a “Reimagined 1s capsule” a collection of ten shoes dropping on February 7, 2018, that were designed by a team of all female creatives.
Leading up to this major release, Jordan has been setting up presentations and forums with women globally about their relationship with the brand and how they’d like to see Jordan improve women’s offerings. One common theme that rang throughout discussions was the desire for neutrals color stories, reflecting not just current fashion trend, but also a wish to extend the wearability factor of the shoes. In other words, women want to actually wear their kicks rather than stack them on a shelf.
The women-specific launches and conversations follow Jordan bringing on stylist, model, and designer Aleali May for the first Jordan Retro shoe designed by a woman that was offered in both men’s and grade school sizes. The Air Jordan I and Aleali May shoe was released in October 2017 just after her extremely limited friends and family run of millennial pink Air Jordan Retro VI shoes. Offered using a grey and black color story, the Air Jordan I and and Aleali May shoe evaporated upon arrival and returned at the end of the year as mentioned on multiple best=of sneaker lists by Complex and other sneaker sites, including ours where it took the No. 2 spot.
In addition to how May wears her 1s and VIs, other women who’ve shown themselves to be skilled at making an array of smooth style statements with sneakers include Jourdan Dunn, SZA, Teyana Taylor, Karrueche, Kehlani, Siobhan Bell, Bella Hadid, and Paloma Elsesser.
Following their lead, we’ve put together a style guide illustrating three ways to style Jordan sneakers. One of the three probably speaks to your go-to sneaker look. The idea of this style guide is to use your Jordan kicks to comfortably walk yourself into a new look that’s slightly outside your comfort zone.
The extra bonus is this guide was created by Rae Witte, who knows all the ins and outs of cool online retail so if nothing else you’ll probably discover some new places to shop. Click on the images to visit the store and check out the highlighted item.
COZY
Much more of a lifestyle choice than a trend at this point, the concept of cozy as a look definitely isn’t going anywhere and will always be a great ‘fit option to wear with Jordans. It’s pretty apparent Kappa is on a similar wave as the team at Jordan, invested in building a better women’s line and even offering a selection of neutral colors, making it a great base to the entire look.
POLISHED
Not only is the Jordan Retro 1 a classic silhouette, the “Season of Her” monochromatic color stories provide an upgrade enabling them to be paired with high-end denim, a blazer, and the chicest set of shades you can get your hands on.
Assembly x Martine Ali vinyl tote: $144
CLOUTFIT
You ever see someone and it’s pretty apparent that they got dressed just as much for the ‘gram as they did for the real life function. Where better than to put the latest and greatest Jordan releases after you put them on your feet than on your timeline?
