One Man and His Shoes / 2020
Directed by:
Yemi Bamiro.
Runtime:
1 hour 23 minutes
Country:
UK
Awards and nominations:
— Best documentary at the Warsaw International Film Festival (nominated), 2020.
— Discovery Award at the British Independent Film Awards (nominated), 2020.
In 1985, Nike and future NBA star Michael Jordan launched the iconic Air Jordan I, the game-changing sneakers without which it is hard to imagine modern American culture. Forbes estimates that the Jordan Brand generates more than three billion dollars annually for Nike. The film «One Man and His Shoes» explores the social and cultural significance of Air Jordan and shows (and not always in terms of complementarity) how marketing strategies have created a veritable empire around the brand. But both Nike and Jordan refrained from commenting.
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SCREENING PARTNER — ARARAT ANI
ARARAT Ani is a seven-year-old vintage brandy, perfect as a gift. And you can also start your ARARAT collection with its variety of new bottle shapes. Likewise, sneaker collections often start with the legendary «jordans» and the second film of the festival is dedicated to their history.
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8 media fans of Air Jordan
Yemi Bamiro’s film «One Man and His Shoes» tells the story of the rise of one of the biggest sneaker empires of our time. Thanks to Michael Jordan, Nike has to a certain extent cultivated the phenomenon of collectors who keep (but don’t always wear) hundreds and thousands of pairs of expensive shoes. DTF Magazine, together with ARARAT Ani, tells us about «jordans» fans
Mark Wahlberg and sneakers for church service
The actor and former rapper (aka Marky Mark) has almost the largest shoe collection of any non-athlete representing or collaborating with the «jordans» brand. He invited the Campless team to estimate the value of the sneakers. It turned out that out of 137 pairs, only 90 could be priced, which totaled more than $100,000. In addition to these sneakers, Wahlberg also has exclusives such as the OVO x Air Jordan 12 White, Air Jordan 4 Duckman and Eminem x Carhartt x Air Jordan 4. These sneakers are valued at $250,000. Mark either joked or seriously remembered that he has priceless white sneakers that he wears to church on Sundays. Their price remained an unknown fact.
DJ Khaled and «jordans» in honor of his son
«When I got older, I realized how big my sneaker collection was. I’m proud of it», DJ Khaled explains. His collection is legendary: it consists of 500—600 sneakers, he remembers the name and designer of each pair and where he bought it. Collaboration of the musician with the brand turned out to be logical. Together they created three pairs, namely the Air Jordan III Retro Grateful, Another One and Father of Asahd in honor of his son. And of course, he wouldn’t be DJ Khaled if he didn’t have the words WE THE BEST on the left sole. Where does this obsession come from? He says the sneakers do something incredible to him when he wears the Legends of the Summer retro model.
Jordan Geller and the sneaker hunt
Jordan Geller had already made history when Nike banned him for life from buying its products. And all because Geller was buying up sneakers and created the ShoeZeum museum, which had 2,388 pairs of shoes. In 2011, it was visited by then Nike CEO Mark Parker, and a year later the museum closed. Jordan had to sell the sneakers because the sneakers were deteriorating quickly and the soles were turning yellow. He sold autographed worn Air Jordan 1s at a Sotheby’s auction for $560,000 in 2020. Geller considered them the «kings» of his collection. «It’s about the hunt and what it takes to get the right shoes», Jordan explained his passion for collecting.
Drake with a gold pair of shoes
Drake’s last collaboration with «jordans» came out in 2019, but he continues to release joint collections with Nike. Once, the rare Air Jordan Retro 4 Multi-Color, Air Jordan 8 Kentucky Blue Midnight Madness PE and Air Jordan 8 Oakley Raptors PE were spotted when the musician was showing off his sneakers on instagram. In 2016, Drake bought OVO x Air Jordan 10s, which cost $600 on eBay, but there’s a nuance — his pair is made of solid gold and cost him $1.9 million at the then-current exchange rate, not including Matthew Senna’s design work. «Checks over stripes, that’s what I like» is a line from a Sicko Mode track that signals Drake’s greater love for Nike than Adidas. And that says it all.
Billie Eilish with love for the hated «jordans»
Eminem, Michael B. Jordan and Will Smith flaunted their love of sneakers on Complex magazine’s Sneaker Shopping show, but it was the episode with Billie Eilish that set the record with 26.5 million views. Billie doesn’t show her entire collection, saying she appreciates the quality of the sneakers she buys and doesn’t chase the mainstream. Although, thanks to her dog, who took a dump in her sneakers, it’s come to light that Eilish, for example, has a pair from the Air Jordan 1 and Dior collab for $8,000.
The singer calls the Air Jordan 15 her favorite model: «I love this silhouette more than any other shoe in the world. People hate them, and I love what other people hate». It would be strange if Nike didn’t offer her a collaboration, and that happened in 2021. Eilish added a cream-colored Air Jordan 15 without changing the shape of the experimental X-15 airplane. The Air Jordan 1KO were released with them in «ghost green», which is one of Billie’s favorite shades.
The Peters sisters and «daddy’s» collection
6,000 pairs of shoes is the size of the collection with which the sisters Ariana, Dakota and Dresden want to enter the Guinness Book of World Records. They are continuing the hobby of their father, who collected sneakers for 25 years. The sisters tried to contact Nike because they didn’t understand how the prototypes from HQ got into their collection. The company was even going to destroy some pairs, but the Peters sisters rescued them and got credit for it, particularly from designer Sandy Bodecker. Now the sisters want to open a store where they will sell single pairs. Of course, they won’t sell all 6,000 pairs, but for collectors, it’s like red to a bull. «Our father appreciated sneakers as an art form, so we grew up with the same attention to them», the Peters sisters say of their main passion.
Collaborative project
