J Balvin Lights Up the Nike Air Jordan 2
Brand: J Balvin x Nike
Model: Air Jordan 2
Release Date: September 15
Price: $300
Buy: Online at Nike SNKRS
Editor's Notes: Earning the opportunity to get your own set of Nikes is every sneaker fan's dream. No, I'm not talking about creating a personal pair of Dunk Lows on Nike By You (previously known as NikeiD), but an official collaboration with your name proudly stamped.
Plenty have earned their stripes in the Swoosh hall of fame, with athlete sponsorship deals led by Michael Jordan, LeBron James, the late Kobe Bryant, and Zion Williamson. Music artists' contributions certainly aren't lacking in numbers, with Billie Eilish, Travis Scott, Ye, G-Dragon, and Kendrick Lamar have all struck gold with Nike at least once.
You'll notice with these team-ups that not everyone gets the chance to play around with the Air Jordan family. Of course, an artist has some choice in the matter, but the Jordan line-up tends to be reserved for the biggest of stars, like Travis and Eilish. Even then, the most popular silhouettes (such as the AJ4) are restricted further.
For a global superstar like J Balvin, Nike's catalog is at your disposal.
Having already tinkered with the Air Jordan 1 High, resulting in an extremely bold finish that paired roughly sewn overlays with a heat map-like palette swap.
Next up – the Air Jordan 2. Although drastically stripped-back compared to his AJ1, Balvin's version of this year's most popular Jordan silhouette certainly doesn't lack detail.
A blue upper comparable to that of Union's Dunk Lows is framed by a cloud graphic heel clip that sports the artist's yellow smiley logo, multicolored stitching, and glowing details. A first for the brand, this has been dubbed “the first LED infused Jordan Retro.”
Seemingly, this LED functionality is reflected by the lightning bolt logo at the rear of the tongue, which causes the wings logo at the front of the tongue to light up green.
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