Air Jordan XX9

About

The Air Jordan XX9 is the 29th signature sneaker in Michael Jordan's line, designed by Tinker Hatfield and released in September 2014. It introduced the world's first performance-woven upper for a basketball shoe, using a high-tech flat-sheet weaving process Hatfield sourced from Italy, with upper panels produced in Italy then shipped to Asia for final assembly. The design process took over two years and involved a team of at least 20 people. Underfoot, the XX9 debuted an evolved Flight Plate with a Pebax moderator plate for added responsiveness, along with a Flight Web fit system of webbed straps across the midfoot for lockdown, plus a double-lasted heel for impact dampening. Nike marketed it as the world's first basketball shoe tailored for flight. It launched in two colorways: Black/White-Gym Red and Black/Team Orange-Dark Grey, with a Bulls-inspired black/red/white colorway referencing the elephant print of the 1988 Air Jordan III.