How Jordan Brand is Flying the Flag For Female Sneakerheads

When it comes to paving the way for women in sneakers, no one is doing it as well as Jordan Brand is right now. Sure, the Nike subsidiary may have started with Micheal Jordan and basketball in mind, but there’s absolutely no denying the cultural impact that the brand has seen since, having transcended the sport to become one of the biggest lifestyle brands going - and with that in mind, it makes total sense to up its women’s offering too. In our opinion, this year has been one of the best years yet for Jordan’s women’s offerings, and here’s why.

Firstly, Jordan kicked off the year by announcing a brand-new women’s initiative for women’s history month back in March. Called ‘The Women’s Collective’, the project brought together 33 women from around the world to help redefine the Jumpman logo and what Jordan stands for, as well as to help to shape the future of the brand. Over the course of six months, these women were given the opportunity to bring their own perspectives to the brand, and received grants to use in their own initiatives and communities as they saw fit.

Though the sneaker scene is known for being male-dominated, the scenes surrounding sports can often be even worse. Though we’ve been lucky enough to welcome more general equity in some sports, the Jordan brand is steeped within basketball heritage, and the court is known to be lagging in this respect. The collective is an initial step into diversifying the basketball world, which, in turn, helps to improve the wider universe surrounding basketball culture.

To make change happen, you have to be able to influence things from the inside, too. Although working on the men’s side, designers like Alicia Pickney have grown up around the brand, and have managed to land their dream jobs in roles at the company. Speaking to The Sole Supplier for our TSW talks series, Alicia told us “I feel like, being a Black girl from West Philly, you know, the East Coast, those things have always been embedded in my culture. So basketball, sneakers, all of it, and to now work for a brand where literally the root is basketball and Black culture, that's like the dream job for me as a Black woman designer, you know?” Without women flying the flag from the inside, we’d hedge our bets that the offering would definitely be a little more on the ‘shrink and pink’ side without them.

This brings us to our next point - Jordan colourways have improved massively over the past couple of years. This year alone we’ve seen a number of standout styles that veer away from the pink Jordan 1 mids we got a little too used to, with full-family sizes and women’s-exclusive offerings arriving with better stories and more interesting shades.

The Air Jordan 1 High OG Denim, of course, pays homage to Black women and arrives adorned with gold accessories and distressed denim panels that sit atop a white leather base. Then of course there was the Air Jordan 1 High OG “Starfish” that was previewed alongside one of Jordan’s ambassador announcements, as the brand welcomed Dallas Wings player and NBA star Isabelle Harris to its athlete roster, further expanding the brand’s efforts in women’s basketball. Arriving in orange and chocolate-coloured tones, this pair both manages to nod to MJ’s iconic ‘Shattered Backboard” moment and corresponding AJ1 colourway, as well as Birkin Bags - as the orange leather also nods to Hermes' signature hue.

Finally, the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Newstalgia” also deserves a mention. This women’s-exclusive sneaker features a chenille Swoosh which give off serious varsity vibes, and although the Swoosh might be fluffy, there’s no sign of pink panelling on this red and white make-up.

Each of these pairs are still available to cop at Nike right now, so hit the links to secure your size!