This weekend Jordan Brand is launching one of its most anticipated collaborations of the year- and it’s on an Air Jordan 16.
When the model first launched in 2001, Michael Jordan was serving as President of Basketball Operations for the Washington Wizards. The 16 emulated this transition for Jordan. It, of course, remained a basketball sneaker. But the inspiration for the sneaker was to create a sneaker you could wear on the court or, like Jordan in those days, in the corporate boardrooms.
This era not only marked a change for Michael Jordan’s career, but also for the lineage of Jordan Brand. Jordan’s partnership with Tinker Hatfield is among the most recognized in footwear history; this era of Jordan Brand brought new prospects, though. And with it, it brought a new direction to the brand.
Wilson Smith III via Nice Kicks
Wilson Smith would step up as designer for the Air Jordan 16 and followed that up with the Air Jordan 17. Both sneakers were a far departure from Jordan Brand’s work during that iconic Bulls’ run. The changes were whiplash for Jordan heads and sneaker fans. So long were Bulls colorways and visible air units. In there place were removable shrouds, heavier sneakers that looked a lot different than what they were used to. In retrospect, this change allowed Jordan Brand to evolve, but that was simply not how fans viewed it back then.
Anyone who grew up in those days of sneaker-forums remembers the often slanderous dialogue that would occur when talking about these later Jordan retro models. Our generations are often labelled as nostalgia-merchants, and this disdain for the latest from Jordan Brand at the time emphasized this. Fans wanted more Air Jordan 3s, another Aqua 8 retro, or an Infrared 6 release. In the end, their demands were always met. And the sneakers from this era of Jordan Brand faded into the background. That is, until recently.
Infinite Archive 17 via I.A.
Last Fall, Infinite Archives launched their long-teased Air Jordan collaboration. The creative brand spent the better part of the year building up to the launch that would eventually be the “Beach” Air Jordan 17. They even took to Paris Fashion Week with F&F colorways that were tributes to past PE renditions of the 17. Through their rollout, they were able to inject a wave of nostalgia and demand into a sneaker from that aforementioned Jordan Brand era- the era of the forgotten signature models.
The Infinite Archives 17 was a hit. It was even in the conversations of the best sneakers of 2025. With the audience base built, Jordan Brand continued rolling out the models of this era. And that trend has carried over to 2026 with the successful launch of pairs like the Air Jordan 15 “Muslin” and the Air Jordan 17 Low “Black Patent”.
Jordan Brand even returned to Paris Fashion Week this Summer to preview the “Black Pack”- a collection of black-based Air Jordan 14-Air Jordan 17. All of these sneakers have received a positive response from the community, but none of them have received the response this week’s collaboration between Jordan Brand and Free The Youth on the Air Jordan 16 has.
Seemingly, the Free The Youth Air Jordan 16 marks the culmination of this era, which began all the way back with the Air Jordan 17 Low Lightning Retro of 2024. Jordan Brand’s efforts to push later retro models have led us to a Ghanaian Streetwear collective, Free The Youth, releasing a very loud but very hyped Air Jordan 16.
With its silver base, bold orange, and reversible shroud, the FTY 16 has stirred up the sneaker space. Awake NY’s pre-release was mayhem; now Jordan Brand partners are relying on raffles to drop the sneaker and have smooth launches. All of this for a sneaker model that twenty years ago would have gotten you laughed out of the WDYWT section on Nike Talk.
Jordan Brand often gets criticized for the methods in which they roll out and launch product. This re-introduction into the retro models of the early 2000s, though, has been masterful. Infinite Archives contextualized the era. The Muslin 15 and the Black Patent 17 gave fans something to chase. All the while, the Free The Youth 16 revitalized the line that desperately needed a lifeline.
Jordan Brand will always put out its early classic models. But it is their recent work on those once shunned models that has been a masterclass in creating buzz and excitement. Jordan Brand’s network of collaborators has not felt this cool in a while. And it is a true sign of success that their in-line vertical and their collaborative network have brought new life into those once forgotten retro lines.
Jordan Brand’s renaissance wasn’t built thanks to another Air Jordan 3 retro. It was built by putting time, effort, and love into an era of sneakers that never properly got its flowers.
