Would you do whatever it takes to get something? Even if it means giving up money, or even your safety and well being? These are just some of the measures which people took to get the UNC “OFF WHITE” Jordan 1s.

On June 19th, 2018, the OFF WHITE Jordan 1 released globally for the first time. Sophomore Timmy Crandall says, “It really shook the whole culture of shoes, and brought in a whole new perspective on shoes all together.” Approaching release date, the whole sneaker world was figuring out ways to get the shoe early. Even celebrities were joining the craze, offering to pay extreme amounts of money to get the shoe early and stunting on people and showing people their wealth and fame. Before the shoe was actually announced by Nike, there were rumors going around that the shoe would be released. These statements are what started the whole craziness about it. Even with the initial craze over it, there were some people upset that the shoe would be released again but in a different color. They were upset because they did not think it was fair for the people who got them the first time, and did not make them rare or anything and not worth any money or resale value. Since so many were going to try and get the shoes, some people used computer generated bots to buy them. These bots allow people to get the shoes faster than someone doing it by themselves. According to Kicks on Fire, “Another increasing problem is that Nike is trying to crack down on bots, but has not been succesful yet.” Another reason why people are upset it because Nike is selling the shoe full stock, not limited quantity. Essentially, this means there is essentially no resale value, meaning almost everyone is guaranteed to get the shoe and have it.

Virgil Abloh, is head of the company “OFF WHITE” and designs the shoes himself. He is still with “OFF WHITE” but is also head of the fashion department at Louis Vuiton. A lot of people think since he is doing such a good job designing the collaborations with Nike that he should just stick with Nike. Freshman Evan Roorda said, “ Yeah, he’s really good at designing the shoes. I don’t think necessarily work with Adidas specifically. I think like high end fashion design, Gucci, Prada, and Versace. They should also make the shoe limited quantity. I think it makes the shoe more precious.” As soon as the shoe was officially announced by Nike, everyone was drooling over it. It was such a big topic, at one point some kids refused to go to school so they can wait all day to see if it was going to drop as a surprise. This persisted for a couple of months, or so until release day came. Some people would even say that they have never seen something more talked about in their life. One high school in Michigan had a attendance of 512 kids. Their school population is 2,111 students. Not all were gone for the shoes, but 75 percent of those were absent because of the pair of shoes. People were camping out the night before outside of shops, waking up early to go online and wait for the drop time. When the shoe actually came out, every single server crashed, and almost no one got the shoe. Everyone who wanted the shoe ended up paying resale value for the shoe which costed around $800-1200.  Sneaker culture was much simpler some would say. For the timeline of events when the rumors about the shoe were announced. According to Kicks on Fire.

Update (6/13/2018): As of today, select Tier 0 location (and possibly SNKRS) will be releasing the shoe once more on June 19th for the retail price of $190.

Update (5/21/2018): Select overseas retailers will be releasing the shoe on May 30th, but a global release (which includes the US) is still currently scheduled for June 9th. Retail price will be $190.

Update: (4/25) : According to py_rates, the OFF-WHITE x Air Jordan 1 UNC will end up releasing on June 9th for $190.

Update (4/5): According to zsneakerheadz, look for the OFF-WHITE x Air Jordan 1 Powder Blue to release on May 26th at select Jordan Brand retailers for the retail price of $190. The shoe will release in similar numbers as the all-White colorway, only this time select stateside retailers will have them in stock.

Update: (3/11) Rumors are pointing to a May 2018 release date.

            The Instagram account  “py_rates” was responsible for leaking most of the main info about the shoe. Nike did try and sue the people responsible for leaking the information, but has not been successful and is still in a lawsuit with them. In the end, the UNC  “OFF WHITE” Jordan 1’s has caused some good and bad things. Overall, I think the shoe has somewhat changed the sneaker culture for the better.