The Race to Attain
Depending on your upbringing, there was a hunger created by this illusion of lack that spawned a motivation to acquire and attain what you thought to be your symbol of status. For most people, this was sneakers. This was having on the latest Nike release because it spoke for you without you opening your mouth to form words audibly. It told those around you that you were in a conversation that only those of a like mind would understand. I want to speak on the culture and influence of sneakers and how it has shaped children, people and the world at large. The shoe this year that is the sum of what this race to attain what we most desire is the release of the Jordan x A Ma Maniere collaboration.
The A Ma Maniere x women’s Air Jordan 3 Retro SP ‘Raised By Women’ features a white tumbled leather upper off-set with touches of grey suede at the toe-box, lace collar, and heel, a quilted interior lining to match the outsole, the tongues include mismatched cobranding. The midsole heel is a dark “Violet Ore” shade, a few departures of the neutral tone, pairing well with the pre-yellowed midsole and mid-foot eyelets to establish that hard to attain luxury vintage aesthetic, the Nike Air logos are on the heel. The story behind the design speaks of those that grew up without but had this yearning to have in their possession such an iconic shoe. James Whitner exemplifies this in how his story is the story of many, where you could not necessarily afford the new Jordan’s, so when you are gifted with a pair by your mother or whoever played a major role in your life growing up, you never forget that. It happens at a moment in your life that becomes a part of the script being created as you live out your purpose in establishing who you were created to be. The Air Jordan 3 itself holds a history in it, and to combine that with the consumer in how it speaks to them in such a way that elevates their sense of identity, is beautiful in the creation of art because depending on the eyes of the person viewing it, it takes on a different meaning. We then share these experiences and ideas that create new works, that ignites in the next individual the race of attainment. We all feel like somebody when our feet are covered by a shoe like the Air Jordan 3, to be in the same mind as Michael Jordan as he played in his own. To see yourself in a James Whitner who came from unfortunate circumstances to collaborations with Jordan Brand and producing a masterpiece of a shoe that tells a story of a child’s taste in luxury although they never laid eyes on it prior to being the one to create it. And that is because you cannot teach one what is already inside of them, you can only give them the utensils and let them paint. There is an identity in all of these house’s that the youth and people as a whole see that tells them this is where we belong. You see yourself in Nike, in Jordan, in A Ma Maniere. That is the influence behind sneakers and the culture through the people that is created.
