Florals for Spring? In the Case of the Air Jordan 3, Pretty Groundbreaking
The Air Jordan 3 is finally getting its flowers. Literally. The "Spring is in the Air" Air Jordan 3 features a white base with embroidered florals, accented with lavender paneling and a mint green outsole. Very pastel. Very spring.
Importantly, this Air Jordan 3’s upper is made of canvas as opposed to the leather panels that the classic Nike basketball shoe usually wears, which bolsters its status as a textural treat.
The elderly charm of embroidery has become a coveted marker within the shoe scene, evidenced by recent standouts like adidas' beautifully knitted "Sakura" sneaker. Nike also gave the Nike Air Force 1 the embroidery treatment with its Air Force 1 Low Canvas, which features a completely embroidered Swoosh. And what about Shinya Kozuka's "magic" Converse sneakers, which turn hand-drawn illustrations into fine sneaker embroidery?
This certainly isn't your grandma's needlework. Unless your grandma is a bonafide sneakerhead, in which case: Stitch on, granny. These shoes are impossibly cool, built to stand the test of time by toeing the line between the new and the old. Old-school stitchwork mixed with revived silhouettes creates one of the most subtly stunning pairings in the entire sneaker market.
Quiet as it's kept in the past year, the AJ3's specialty sneaker lore has grown immensely. For Valentine's Day, Nike dropped a pink and red "Valentine's Day" AJ3 shoe and last year, American artist Nina Chanel Abney created a mega-fuzzy AJ3, a wearable work of art. But the historic sneaker doesn’t get as much love as it ought to.
So, what better way to spring forward than with a pair of super-stiched floral Air Jordan 3s? And, are florals during spring that surprising? No. But the floral Air Jordan 3 adds to the AJ3's growing legacy as one of Nike's most texturally exciting shoes, and that is flower-worthy in its own right.
