basketball shoe

It is unclear whether Jordan lacked perspective or merely feigned ignorance, striking a pose of impartiality that is as easy to sketch as his patented triangular, one-handed dunk – an image that now adorns the Air Jordan basketball shoe.

Designed by the eccentric genius Peter Moore, the sleek, stylish basketball shoe seems not so much created as discovered — as if, Moore says in the film, “it’s always been here,” much the way Michelangelo found his sculptures “already complete within the marble block.”

It’s a small appearance, but one that makes clear the Jordan’s ascendancy from basketball shoe to streetwear staple to common accessory with formal tailoring.

The film explores the origins of the popular Air Jordan basketball shoe line in the 1980s that captured Jordan’s black silhouette jumping with a ball in his hand on every shoe, eventually becoming a staple in both the fashion and sports industries.

“Air,” a movie that follows the history of Air Jordans, Nike’s basketball shoe that became the model for sports star-endorsed franchises, premieres on April 5.