As you know whenever Jordan Brand announces a new entry in its iconic series, it’s a major event. Today was no different as Spike Lee, Carmelo Anthony, Tinker Hatfield and the newest member of the clique Russell Westbrook came out to introduce the Air Jordan XX8.
The event started with a Q&A between Spike and Carmelo but the main event came when we were invited upstairs to peep the new shoe. The initial revelation was pretty shocking as we saw what looked like long, rainboots. But if you peel the outer layer back (a la The Glove, which Jordan Brand Developer Josh Heard, also present, had a hand in designing as well) you’ll see a striking shoe that catches plenty of eyes. Tinker said he was inspired by a scene of True Lies where Arnold tears away his camouflage to reveal a pristine tux. This shoe is a reversal of that concept. During the Q&A, Tinker revealed that Nike would have more colorways than any other Nike shoe so far.
The highlight, though, came when we got to try them on. It was then that you feel the Jordan Flight Plate, which is “a Pebax® moderator plate that maximizes the responsiveness of the Nike Zoom units through compression and deflection for optimal performance by essentially unlocking the airbags
in the forefoot and heel, unleashing the power of the Zoom bags.” The sole truly gives the impression of floating. Don’t get it twisted: these are performance kicks. Tinker and Heard revealed that they went through the most extensive test process ever for a pair of shoes, making sure athletes could perform without issue.
If you want a sneak peek of the shoes on the feet and under pressure, you can see Westbrook wear them tomorrow in the Barclays center against the Nets. It will be available in Houston only on February 15, 2013, and then nationwide on Saturday, February 16, for a suggested retail price of $250.
