Jordan Brand Unveils New Air Jordan 2012

On Tuesday (February 7), Jordan Brand unveiled their anticipated Air Jordan 2012, the latest installment in the storied sneaker franchise. The 27th Air Jordan aims to be the best yet, with a focus on enhancing performance and catering to different styles of players with interchangeable inner sleeves and midsoles.

“Through comprehensive research, we saw an increasing need for footwear that can be customized to meet the needs of the world’s best athletes,” said Tinker Hatfield, Air Jordan 2012 co-designer and Vice President, Special Projects and Creative Design for Nike, Inc., in a press release. “Last year’s Air Jordan 2011 began the modular story for the brand with two interchangeable midsoles, but we took it a step further this year by introducing two interchangeable inner sleeves and three interchangeable midsoles to help ‘fly through’, ‘fly over’ or ‘fly around’ their opponents.”

The “fly around” zones in on lightweight and responsive cushioning through a Nike Zoom unit in the heel. The “fly over” has the Nike Zoom unit in the forefoot and an Air Sole unit in the heel to help maximize responsiveness. The “fly through” offers a full-length encapsulated Air Sole to brace for high impact landings. The interchangeable sleeves, too, maximize customization capabilities, with a low and a high option for different levels of ankle freedom and support.

According to the release, "The Air Jordan 2012 Deluxe will feature the two inner sleeves and three midsole options allowing for six different shoe configurations for a suggested retail price of $223. The Air Jordan 2012 Flight System will be customizable at retail based on the consumers style of play and will feature one inner sleeve and one midsole for a suggested retail price of $180 and will be available on Saturday, February 25. In addition, the AIR JORDAN 2012 will be available on Nike iD on Tuesday, February 14 for a suggested retail price of $205."

Check out some photos of the new release below. —Adam Fleischer