Behind New York City’s infectious, high-energy hustle lies a mosaic of greatness. Through buildings that stretch infinitely into the sky and action on every street corner, the urban jungle itself makes a lasting impression, but the place wouldn’t be anything without the people who bring it to life.
Culture has always thrived in New York. Music, fashion, and competition converge in this colorful epicenter. And it’s not news that NYC has always been a hub for hoops. The city where dreamers bring their aspirations to fruition —and once actualized, they see the potential to dream even bigger. That desire to reach the top echoes the mindset of one of the game’s greats, Michael Jordan—an ethos the Jordan brand continues to uphold today.
Building on that heritage, the Jumpman label brought the Jordan Design Studio to New York, a global workshop and mentorship program created to inspire blossoming creatives to turn their dreams into tangible reality.
Previously hosted in LA and Chicago, the incubator finally landed in the city that never sleeps in search of those at the top of their game. Inviting in eight creatives who are defined by the city’s signature grit, Jordan Brand tasked each designer with reimagining the famed Air Jordan 1. The challenge wasn’t about totally reinventing a classic, but rather about tapping into their own distinct voices and projecting them onto the canvas of one of the most iconic sneakers in history.
Led by Awake NY’s founder and bona fide New Yorker, Angelo Baque, along with members of Jordan’s in-house design team, the mentees diligently worked over three days to transform their carte-blanche basketball sneakers into expressions of their distinct aesthetics. The experience gave all the crafters valuable lessons they can carry long after the workshop concludes, but only one design emerged on top.
From each design incubator, eight finalists will be carefully selected — each honored for their willingness to push the envelope, innovation, and attention to detail. One victorious design will be chosen at the global finale in Shanghai, and it will join the other famed Air Jordan silhouettes in an iconic lineup.
Read more about each NYC participant below.
Name: Alaia Ryan - Winner
Creative Discipline: Fashion Design
Alaïa Ryan is a triple-threat designer, stylist, and founder. Her brand, Nayr Studio, is known for its signature heart-shaped bags and bold, textured materials. She manages the small-batch production process directly in NYC and often steps into the role of muse, styling and modeling her own pieces in her own unique way. She later plans to expand the brand into ready-to-wear, growing her universe.
Alaia RyanBeing a girl who grew up in Queens, around sneaker culture and fashion, having the chance to create my own AJ1 is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I'm excited to do this and bring my authentic self to it.
Name: Sim + Rivers W2YH
Creative Discipline: Creative Direction, Modeling, Storytelling
Sim and Rivers are a dynamic duo who both share a love for archival fashion and creation. Sim From The Hill is a curator from Sugar Hill, Harlem — a career that stemmed from self-published zines rooted in heritage. Now, his resume includes model, creative director, and cultural programmer. He launched W2YH, a clothing brand, as well as his own production agency, Poppin’ Overseas. Rivers is similarly interdisciplinary, wearing many hats as a cultural archivist, a model, and a next-generation storyteller. He documents the stories of the next generation through his unique cultural perspective and brings that inventive outlook to his updated Jordan sneaker design.
SimWe don't come from a background in fashion, but we've been putting in work when it comes to cultural understanding and cultivation. To me, it’s just cool to be a part of something that I know, 10 years from now, is probably going to be way bigger.
RiversI'm the youngest one in the group, out of 64 people. I'm feeling the pressure now, but I would rather feel it now than when I'm 30. I'm not supposed to be in the fashion world, but I finessed it. I can only imagine what's next.
Name: Julian Michel Eversley
Creative Discipline: Product Design
Julian Michel Eversley currently resides in Harlem, but he is of Bajan, Haitian, and Native American descent. Through skateboarding, he found a love for design, as the sport merges so many different subcultures. He has trained as an industrial/product designer and is also a self-taught cobbler — so he definitely knows his way around shoe design.
Julian Michel EversleyMy relationship with shoes is definitely style-based. But it’s also utilitarian. I don't really care about keeping my shoes clean. I'm more based on function, which I think can be a cool aspect to bring to my Jordan redesign.
Name: Iman Abdul-Rassoul
Creative Discipline: Fashion and Textile Design
Iman Abdul-Rassoul wears many hats as a multidisciplinary artist, designer, and community organizer. Her parents immigrated from Puerto Rico and Lebanon, so she often pulls inspiration from the visual universes of the MENA region, the Caribbean, and New York City, yielding work rooted in cultural legacy. She is the founder and director of Opiyel, a brand that lies at the intersection of fashion, textiles, and contemporary design.
Iman Abdul-RassoulI feel very proud to represent my community, especially the Arab community. I want to shout them out because there aren't enough creatives in the scene that are being selected for things like this. I'm really honored to represent my community, my ancestors, and those before and in front of me.
Name: THIIIRD
Creative Discipline: Painting and Fashion Design
Robert Owasu infuses his cultural upbringing into all his work. He is New York-based, but his Ghanaian-American roots guide his outlook and storytelling. The multidisciplinary artist allows a referential ideology to inform his pieces and brought this multicultural framework to his custom AJ1 design.
THIIIRDComing from Yonkers, New York, this is not really a situation that you can even fathom having. When I was growing up, I always yearned for a pair of Jordans. This is what 17-year-old me wanted.
Name: JJ Grant
Creative Discipline: Visual Arts and Fashion Design
JJ Grant roots her work in Black and Puerto Rican heritage, calling upon her community to inform her wearable designs. She’s not only a designer but also an artist, as well as the founder and creative director of JJGRANT. Through all of these mediums, she honors the communities she grew up in by preserving memory and inspiring boundless creation. Through her youth-centered creative platform, I SEE ME, she uses art and storytelling to build self-assurance in burgeoning tastemakers and to help them further understand their identities.
JJ GrantI’m not surprised that I'm here, because I know I've earned the right to be here. But it's an amazing feeling and one that I know I'll never forget. I want to continue that story of interrupting tradition.
Name: Yeddifer
Creative Discipline: Sculpture and Design
Yeddifer Fermin is an artist who seeks to defy the typical boundaries of sculpture, installation, and design. Known as THE FERM, the NYC-based creative builds entire universes around her projects, inviting audiences to step into these elaborate worlds. Tapping into the emotional side of art, nostalgia fuels most of her work and inspired her recent installation, The Reach.
YeddiferIf little me was to know I was in this room right now, she would be ecstatic. Knowing my art is opening these doors makes me very content with what I'm doing.
Name: Justin Blanco
Creative Discipline: Industrial Design
Justin Blanco has cultivated a thriving career as a product designer and consultant, helping bring concepts to life with brands like adidas, Red Bull, Hennessy, and more. With more than 15 years of professional and independent design experience, he created his own brand concept: New York Penn. Through his personal brand, Blanco focuses on storytelling through a distinctly New York lens, bringing that original perspective and grit to his custom AJ1 design.
Justin BlancoI pride myself on my whole career being bred here in New York City, and bringing that perspective to my work. Being able to tell those stories through the Air Jordan 1 is exciting, to say the least.
Stay tuned for more from the Jordan Design Studio circuit.
