The Top 5 Project Bluefoot: Air Jordan Design Competition Finalists are…

- Yurri Mial
- Ben Adams-Keane
- Tom Matic
- Frederic Roy
- Titus Ares
- John Lee

A total of six Project Bluefoot Finalists are listed above. As the last votes came in, two Finalist designs were rated an equal score to snap up the last spot in our public voting session. We now hand the Finalists over for ultimate judgment by D’Wayne Edwards, Footwear Design Director at Jordan Brand, and Jason Mayden, Senior Footwear Designer at Jordan Brand. Congrats to all and good luck!

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(click images to view full size)

Yurri Mial:

My concept for the Jordan XXV is all about elevation. The only true way to defeat your opponent is through elevating your abilities mentally, and physically. Jordan Brand embodies the notion of advancement and soaring over its competition, and it was important that my Jordan concept followed suit. The design needed to be aggressive, yet elegant and be able to provide all the necessary components needed to elevate your game.

The shoe features an overlaid stitched leather upper that allows foot ventilation through the mesh wing patterned openings. There is a full-length neoprene bootie that also keeps the foot immobilized inside the shoe. The bootie also offers good ankle support and cushioning around the padded collar. There is a hidden webbed loop lacing system featured along the vamp. Doubled stack zoom is offered in the shoe to provide good cushioning, yet allowing the user to feel the court. The lightweight TPU chassis wraps around the entire shoe doubling as a heel counter that cinches the heel to ensure heel lockdown, and full lateral foot reinforcement. The segmented sole offers flexibility and supreme traction with its wrap-around rubber herringbone pattern tread. Each segment of the sole is reinforced with a layer of Phylon cushioning, and the full-length carbon fiber plate that runs along the underside of the shoe. The rounded heel of the shoe also allows a better transition from heel to toe during heel strike. -Yurri Mial
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Ben Adams-Keane:

The name Michael Jordan is synonymous with greatness, innovation and global-stardom.

With this in mind, I thought it fit to take inspiration from the greatest pop artist of all time, Michael Jackson, for the 25th incarnation of Michael Jordan’s signature shoe.

Jackson was an international icon with unparalleled talent who dominated his field. Like Jordan, Jackson gained recognition for his gravity-defying performances, utilizing the moonwalk and anti-gravity lean on stage.In fact, Michael Jackson patented an anti-gravity shoe for performing these dance moves. With this in mind, I set out to design the Air Jordan XXV from the ground up, with particular emphasis on the shoe’s energy-return and flexibility.

The midsole is comprised of lunarlite foam (think “moon”walk) with a full length injection molded TPU shank plate for energy return. Keeping flexibility in mind, the shank plate and outsole both use deep grooves inspired by the jacket worn by Michael Jackson in Thriller.

Moving to the upper, I looked at the flexible, quilted shoulders of Jackson’s Thriller jacket for inspiration. The entire quarter, heel, and toe are constructed with molded flex channels and debosses, designed to make the upper more flexible. The upper also sports several aesthetic details taken from Jackson- the eyelet on the medial side is taken from another of Jackson’s jackets, and the screen mesh tongue is designed to shine the way Jackson’s signature sequin glove did.

The molding on the midsole of the shoe is taken directly from the shape of the first few notes on the Thriller sheet music. The inner of the shoe utilizes an asymmetrical full-length inner bootie with wristband inspired ankle padding on the medial side. Lastly, I thought a gold and silver colorway would be fit for the king of pop. -Ben Adams-Keane
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Tom Matic:

Air & wind have taken centre stage in the inspiration of this Jordan XXV.

By using this and the combination of Michael Jordan’s hang time in the air
creates a design that is in harmony to produce a fitting shoe. Using the flowing lines of wind in conjunction with other attributes to air & wind,creates a story carried around the entire shoe. Having researched the Greek gods of Wind, I have designed a pair of shoes with each one taking on their mythical backgrounds fighting their powers against each other on either shoe.

This is synonymous with the 2 teams that fight against each other on the court. The inspiration of wind as a natural element is a abstract use of Nike’s push for a greener future.

Peformance detials & Technologies include:
To combat the force when landing, The concept takes inspiration from tennis
racket shock absorbers. The main fabric used is leather with ribs of advanced rubber in between as shown. This allows the force of landing to be absorb around the shell of the shoe rather then straight through to the foot.

Inspiration is taken from an animal paw, This allows for independent use of the toes to give a firmer push & allows the user to direct their movement more accurately. To remove further cumbersome material & weight. The use of mesh covered advanced rubber  ‘ribs’ help offer foot support instead of foam. This gives and offers return energy to the user to switch direction in a faster time.

‘Pivot system’ allows user to move freely from left to right, allowing the shoe to move separate from the sole allowing for quicker movement on the court. In making the access easier, the tongue is split into two sections. This enables the top part to pull down on elastic ‘pylons’ that give greater space for the foot. when the foot is in place the user pulls on the laces to pull the top section into place where a mechanism clicks it into the correct position

To keep inline with the inspiration, the rear removes any heavy waste. This allows for a lighter shoe & allows users to look at the detailed performance parts. This pays homage to Nike’s Ethics to performance. -Tom Matic
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Frederic Roy:

Inspirations: My inspiration behind the Jordan 25 or Jordan 2010 is that I asked myself, where was Michael Jordan at 25 and what Air Jordan did he wear at that time? Of course, he played with the Chicago Bulls, but what was his exploits at 25 years? The answer, MJ was 25 years old in 1988, during the 87-88 season he was named MVP, Defensive player of the year and won the Slam Dunk contest in the Jordan 3.

So, because of his domination at both end of the court, a perfect balance between defense and offence I thought about the symbolic of the Yin Yang (opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn).

Design: I wanted that the 2 side of the shoe was not totally symmetric, but I did not want a 2 color design like the AND1 Tai Chi.I rather be inspired by the curve of the Yin Yang symbol and the circles of it. I put the lace on the medial side, like the Jordan TGIM, (I read that this is one of the most comfortable shoe that Ray Allen wore). To refer to Jordan 3, which he wore in 88, I used of course the elephant print for the toe box, but not gray, rather red, a little bit surreal like his season anyway!

Technology and materials: I have also used the Yin Yang symbol on the insole, the round that appear, it’s the I.P.S. technology (Independent Suspension Podular use on model XX1, XX2 and XX3). I didn’t have the chance to try Air Jordan 2009 with the APT Technology so I came back with this cushioning that I know and really like). The upper is a combination of synthetic leather and nubuck, the heel in synthetic leather and the collar is a plush form-fitting. -Frederic Roy
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Titus Ares:

My design is based on the sophisticated nature of Michael Jordan after his legendary career. He hasn’t suited up in years, but his memory is still fresh in my mind. The way he played was similar to the way he dressed. He was cool, calculating and sophisticated. Both talent-wise and aesthetically, he was a joy to behold. He was the player you would notice in a room full of players. This was due partly to his charisma, but also to the way he carried himself. He was a man who wore three-piece suits in the heyday of throwbacks and fitted pinwheel hats. He always retained a sophisticated demeanor and was never a victim to fads. He was in a class of his own, and it’s evident in the way the next generation of young players is dressing, that he was ahead of his time.

-The AJXXV upper is made of tumbled leather to be comfortable right out of the box.
-It is accented by a suede toe cap and heel, a material in which creasing is less noticeable.
-Patent leather runs along the sides of the shoe, giving it more support on the lateral movements and quick cuts.
-In keeping with the three-piece suit motif, a neoprene sock and breathable mesh tongue work with the upper and the foot is locked into place via speed lacing system.
-Full-length zoom air is enclosed within the midsole, where parts are PU and other parts are lunar foam.
-A clear sole wraps up the lateral side of the AJXXV, thus giving the rest of the form the silhouette of a formal dress shoe. -Titus Ares
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John Lee:

Year 2010 is the retirement year of the NASA’s space shuttle called S.T.S Space Transportation System. S.T.S is the current space transportation that are used for U.S human space flight. The STS has made a huge mark in our history in similar fashion to M.J himself.

STS was chosen as an inspiration, not only to celebrate its retirement next year, but because of its similarities in characteristics with M.J. They are both built to perform in its peak with perfection and applying most innovative technologies and materials. M.J’s ability to perform day in day out on the court leading his troops and making mark in the history of basketball, is almost identical of performance seen in STS. If STS or M.J fails on a mission, it can lead to failure of a team. Also interestingly the both of them work with gravity to perform.

Another key element of STS space shuttles are its design to be sustainable and reuse parts from the previous space shuttles when building or altering the shuttles. With Air Jordan’s new approach to designing shoes with concept of ‘considered’ it is a great match.

The design of the shoes has captured the essence and characteristics of the space shuttle. The mid-sole has been inspired by the details seen three main nozzles of rocket boosters. The lace access has been inspired by the opening doors seen on the space shuttle while on the mission in gravity (I did not have the time to show this detail unfortunately). It also utilised the reused materials from previous jordan series to be aligned with considered concept. -John Lee
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