If there’s a color story to narrate the transitional climate of fall and the subsequent cold of winter, this year that vignette will be told with rich brown hues as its protagonist. The warm, mesmerizing shade touches current color trends while equally holding remnants of ’70s elegance. It’s as new as it is old yet never too much of either.
Jordan Brand smartly centers its holiday 2018 women’s collection around this adoring color median. Which, in part, should be championed for the simple fact that a women’s collection has been produced in a shade historically worn by — and designed for — men. As true with most things, though, the fairer sex is far more graceful in the alluring reach of brown which will be seen on a variety of Jordan styles over the course of the next few months.
The Air Jordan 1 Utility Pack is the offering’s largest grouping. Designed with Jordan’s Flight Utility ethos, unity is seen through its collective Air Jordan 1 foundation and penchant for the undefined. Imaginative design updates and whimsical material enhancements energize the Air Jordan 1 basis. However, the shoe in its traditional form may be the collection’s greatest achievement.
Soundtracked to lush brown overlays is the highly anticipated Air Jordan 1 “Rookie of the Year” edition. Inspired by the retro brown jacket Michael Jordan wore when he received NBA Rookie of the Year honors back in 1985, Jordan encompassed the spirit of late ’70s and early ’80s style with the magnetic shade. Further, his statistics from that famed season are hidden underneath flaps at the ankle collar, while contrasting red and black secondary hues join with a white base layer.
The collection, while largely fixated on brown, isn’t solely based in the singular shade. A Fire Red Air Jordan 4 that over time organically wears and changes color like Lance Mountain’s Air Jordan 1 is another staple of the collection. So is a medium green Air Jordan 11, basking in olive shades set into motion by smooth suede fabrication.
In tune with the ever-changing Pantone and the spectrum in which it’s gauged, Jordan Brand’s inspired holiday collection for women represents a shift in the thought process behind what women are perceived to want. It’s not all pink. It’s not all purple. There are no sparkles. The color focus has finally moved beyond those antiquated notions, and women’s footwear is finally becoming more nuanced with relative consistency.
