Founded in 1984, Air Jordan is a basketball shoe and athletic wear brand owned and created by Michael Jordan and Nike. From the very first day that Michael Jordan stepped onto the court in a pair of illegal red and black 1s in 1984, Air Jordan has always been characterized by its unapologetically avant-garde shoe design, leading the way with aggressive, futuristic forms, materials and manufacturing techniques that often seem to have more in common with the canon of modernist sculpture or Italian race car design than the world of court shoes.