Michael Jordan enters the event holding the Air Jordan 2009
Number 23, the man himself made a surprise entrance earlier this morning at the unveiling of the Air Jordan 2009 which is the next signature sneaker from the Air Jordan legacy line. As Michael Jordan did not want to downplay the importance of #23 to his legacy and Brand Jordan’s legacy, the numbering of Air Jordans ended with the Air Jordan XX3. And so from this year on, each new legacy Air Jordan will be named by the year, next year we can probably expect an Air Jordan 2010.
On hand for the unveiling were Jason Mayden the designer, Keith Houlemard the Jordan Brand President and the first women athlete in the Jordan roster April Holmes. Holmes is the first female athlete on the Team Jordan roster and competes on the US Paralympics Track and Field Team. She owns the world records (women’s T44 classification) in the 100m, 200m and 400m dashes, and her many accomplishments have earned her the title of “world’s fastest amputee.” MJ and Jason Mayden spoke about the inspiration, development and design of the Air Jordan 2009 as well as MJ’s career developments that has taken Jordan Brand toward the Air Jordan 2009. It was no surprise during the Q&A session that followed that Michael Jordan would be asked the most questions as this is a very rare appearance by him for the announcement of his signature sneakers. Photos by Yu-Ming/Freshness
Photos from the event below…