The Air Jordan 16 was released on February 17, 2001 - Jordan’s 38th birthday. This shoe was the first to not be designed by Tinker Hatfield in over a decade, yet it brought together the best pieces of shoes Tinker designed.
The Air Jordan 16 hit the shelves following the successful (though ugly) Air Jordan 15. Jordan Brand found that Jordan didn’t need to wear the shoes in the NBA to be on the hot list of every other American teenager.
Hatfield Retires
Ok, well, Hatfield didn’t exactly retire (he was actually promoted), but this was the first shoe since the Air Jordan 2 to not be designed by Tinker Hatfield. The Jordan 16 were designed by Nike’s Senior Footwear Designer Wilson Smith. Smith decided to bring in a few design elements/fabrics from earlier releases. For instance we saw the return of the clear rubber sole (Air Jordan 5, Air Jordan 6, Air Jordan 11) and they also featured patent leather (Air Jordan 11).
Gaiter on - Gaiter off
What made the Jordan 16 unique
was the brand new gaiter/shroud that covered the shoe and that could be removed
to give the shoe a brand new look. Not only was this for stylish purposes, it
also had a thermal functionality.The Air Jordan 16 was a little stiff and to
wear the shroud/gaiter when playing basketball really wasn’t a good idea, as it
pretty easily could fall off. The black/red Jordan 16 and white/navy
Air
Jordan 16 both featured patent leather which very easily got creased and
cracked. Best for playing in were the one’s without patent leather.The overall
design was great and it’s great to see a new designer put his foot forward.The
Jordan 16 will return in 2008.
