Roger Federer and Michael Jordan must have been discreetly spending some time with each other. The tennis legend and basketball GOAT were recently taking selfies together but that wasn’t the only collaboration that the two were working on.
MJ #selfie #HisAirness pic.twitter.com/Bv4HJVecqa
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) August 26, 2014
The two also made music together:
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And, best of all, Federer and Jordan Brand made a mashup tennis shoe that would give any sneakerhead a huge injection of nostalgia.
Called the Nike Zoom Vapor 9 Tour AJ3, the Federer signature shoe gets its inspiration from the Air Jordan 3, one of Air Jordan’s most iconic silhouettes ever and one of MJ’s personal favorite models.
For reference, here’s the Air Jordan 3.
That is about as good a translation as one is likely to get from a basketball sneaker to a tennis shoe. That is only fitting seeing as the Zoom Vapor 9 Tour AJ3’s were also designed by the legendary Tinker Hatfield, who was responsible for the Air Jordan 3 design as well as a host of other classic Jordan shoes. It also doesn’t hurt having His Airness himself involved in the creative process:
“About a year ago, I heard that Roger wanted to design and wear a Jordan shoe on the court. I have followed Roger’s career and have been a big fan for some time now,” Jordan said via a Nike rep. “I definitely thought this could be a really unique and special collaboration and when I heard that Roger wanted the shoe to be modeled after the Air Jordan 3, I was in. To me, this collaboration is not just about style. I really wanted Roger to get involved and understand what he needed from the shoe itself to perform at his best while still having the look and feel of a Jordan sneaker.”
The results are magnificent and pretty much speak for themselves.
The shoe will arrive at nike.com as well as North America NikeLab locations, Niketown NY and Flight 23 in limited quantities on August 27th which means that if you want a pair, be prepared for the online rush.
