Air Jordan XVI

About

The Air Jordan XVI, released in 2001, marked a watershed moment in the Air Jordan lineage: it was the first Air Jordan designed without Tinker Hatfield. Wilson Smith III, who became Jordan Brand's first dedicated in-house designer, took creative control of the XVI and the models that followed. Smith drew inspiration from performance cars and architecture, resulting in a shoe with angular lines and one of the most debated features in Air Jordan history — a removable lace cover officially called a shroud, which fastened over the shoe like a spat. The original retail price was . Four colorways launched at release, with the Bred (black and varsity red) being the most iconic. The shoe's ad campaign featured rapper Mos Def, departing from the performance-driven athlete marketing typical of earlier Jordan models. The XVI coincided with the final season of Michael Jordan's second tenure with the Chicago Bulls, and Jordan wore it during his last Bulls playoff appearance. It remains one of the more polarizing silhouettes in the Air Jordan archive, celebrated for its bold design and Wilson Smith III's vision of the brand's future direction.