The Jordan Retro 1 Bubble Gum

Even if you're not a basketball fan, chances are good you know who Michael Jordan is. Some consider the basketball legend to be the greatest player of all time. With a career spanning more than 12 years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the superstar inspired the Air Jordan, one of Nike's most successful sneakers. In 2021, Nike decided to celebrate another aspect of MJ's fame: his habit of chewing bubblegum on the court. Enter the Jordan Retro 1 Bubble Gum.

The Original Air Jordan

Although time has proven the Jordan to be a commercial and critical success, its initial release was sometimes controversial. Because Nike gave Michael Jordan a lucrative contract before his first season even started, not everyone thought it was a good choice. When Jordan kept wearing the shoes on the court and winning game after game, however, critics came around. Even more interesting is that Jordan wasn't supposed to wear these shoes at all because it was a uniform violation. In fact, he was fined at every match for continuing to wear his Air Jordans on the court.

The first Air Jordan was black and red to match the official colors of the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan's team for the majority of his career. With its eye-catching design and strong color contrast, the Air Jordan was an instant success that more than paid back the risks Nike took on a relative newcomer to basketball. As time went on, the Oregon-based shoe manufacturer continuously tweaked the design, updating it nearly every year of Jordan's basketball career and on through today. All told, there are more than 35 distinct variations of the Air Jordan. Sneakers from every version of the Jordan are popular today as a quick look through eBay's listings will show you.

1994 and the Launch of the Jordan Retro 1

With so many variations on the Air Jordan theme, you might think that Nike would be too busy to release retro editions. Fortunately for sneakerheads, that isn't the case. In 1994, an Air Jordan 1 was the very first retro sneaker Nike launched. In two initial colorways, the first Jordan Retro 1 saw the classic Jordan 1 profile in Black/Red and Black/Blue color combos. Since then, dozens of Jordan Retro 1 colorways have been released.

Jordan Retro 1 Bubble Gum

The Retro 1 Bubble Gum was first announced in July 2021 with a mockup that is slightly different from the final design. The sneaker dropped in December of the same year, featuring a white base with Obsidian panels in the toe and upper heel. A bubblegum pink panel wraps around the heel, covering some of the upper Obsidian panels and coming together at the top two lace holes. Completing the design are the words Nike Air on the tongue and the original Air Jordan logo on the outside heel.

Although the original design name for this model was the Atmosphere, a teaser posted to Instagram ahead of the sneaker's release made it clear that the colorway for this Retro Jordan was inspired by Michael Jordan's love for bubblegum.