I’ve made the case before that internet leaks are ruining the new sneaker experience. Well, this might be the biggest evidence for that argument yet.
What you see right now is allegedly, the new Air Jordan 31 (or XXX1 if you want to be consistent) that was set to be revealed officially on July 20. The hype for the shoe began a few days ago when Nike re-aired the famous “Banned” commercial starring Michael Jordan and the Air Jordan 1 Black/Red (which is reportedly set to return this year as well). The twist was at the end of the commercial when they said that the “new era” was coming. Then the teasers for the new shoe started making their way online, placing it side-by-side with the original banned Air Jordan 1 but with curiously positioned black bars on both that would make Kim Kardashian proud. You could see hints of the 31 peeking outside of the bars, but not enough to make an educated guess as to what it actually looks like. Then this image claiming to be the 31 dropped.

What you could make out of the shoe through the black bars in the teasers matches up with this image. It appears to have woven and leather elements on the upper, along with a fading swoosh and a giant Jumpman. If this is the Air Jordan 31, it feels like a shoe that is quite literally transitioning from the old into the new.
As you can probably imagine, the buzz that is coming out of Sneaker Twitter is not positive to say the least. There have been comparisons to takedown models and forgotten Team Jordans like the Jordan Sky High. Jordan Brand has yet to make their pitch for the shoe and already judgement on it has been passed with phrases like “straight to outlet” being thrown around. For my part, the leak reminded me of the Air Jordan 1 MTM that was essentially an Air Jordan 1 with the technology of the Air Jordan XX9. I thought that shoe was a great idea for a one-off (and I’m still looking for the MTM Pack at a reasonable price), but it shouldn’t be the inspiration for a new proper Air Jordan.
That’s not to say that Jordan Brand can’t change the narrative, but it is going to be a tough challenge. No matter how blurry the pic is or incongruous with the final product the initial leak may be, that is always going to be the first impression we have of the Air Jordan 31 and it’s going to take a lot to change that. They have been revealing new Air Jordans earlier and earlier because they want to beat the internet to the punch and get their story out there. When the shoe is revealed on Wednesday in Las Vegas, the brand will knock it out of the park with the presentation and the pitch as to why this shoe is the best thing ever. They did earlier this year with the reveal of the Air Jordan XXX in Chicago and months later, we now clamor for more colorways like the recently released Cosmos. I don’t doubt Jordan Brand can do it again with the Air Jordan 31, but you figure it’s a problem they wish they didn’t have to deal with.
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