Official Photos of the Air Jordan 13 “Obsidian"
Air Jordan 13 "Obsidian"
Release Date: Sep 18th, 2021 (Saturday)
Color: White/Obsidian/Dark Powder Blue
Style Code: 414571-144
The Air Jordan 13 “Obsidian” is a brand new colorway of the Jordan 13 that will be releasing as part of Jordan Brand’s Spring/Summer 2020 lineup.
Dressed in a White, Obsidian, and Dark Powder Blue color scheme. This Charlotte Hornets-themed Air Jordan 13 features a White leather upper with Dark Blue underlays along with Light Blue accents on the tongue’s Jumpman logo and rubber outsole. This release arrives in OG packaging and in full-family sizing.
Some would also argue these err closer to UNC, its accents — like the tongue’s embroidery and the outsole — dressed bright in the beloved “University Blue” color. But elsewhere, the nods to the aforementioned are much stronger, with the titular navy displayed right atop the tumbled leather toe, heel, and lace unit. The side, then, rounds out the construction in the model’s signature fashion, laying down a sheet of white embellished with the standard dimples. What’s more, the heel’s cat-eye hologram also proffers an original feel, tinted with a bright shade of green and superimposed with an image of MJ himself.
It was 1996, and for months, Tinker, the world’s greatest sneaker designer, had been working on a new shoe for the greatest basketball player in the world. But Tinker wasn’t getting anywhere. Then, while watching the Chicago Bulls on television, Tinker saw Michael Jordan through a different lens. On the court, the chiseled 6-foot-6 shooting guard was smart and sinewy. He was powerful and instinctive. He could conserve his energy like no other. At the right time and moment, he’d attack. Jordan displayed predatory behavior, reminding Tinker of a feline — specifically, a black cat. He sketched his vision on trace paper. Then he boarded a plane.
Jordan was at The Forum in Inglewood, California, on the set of what would become the iconic "Frozen Moment" commercial. Between takes, secluded behind a prop while seated in director’s chairs, Tinker unveiled a presentation board to Jordan. It featured the side and bottom views of his design for the Air Jordan XIII. Flanking the shoe were illustrations of two black cats with glowing eyes.
“When he saw the board and heard me mention the words ‘Black Cat,’ he stopped me. He just stopped me dead and said, ‘How did you know?’ ” Tinker recalled. “I’m like, ‘How did I know what?’ He goes, ‘How do you know what my secret nickname is? It’s only used by best friends.’ I said, ‘I didn’t know anybody ever called you the Black Cat.’
Once he developed the “Black Cat” concept, Tinker employed it throughout the entire structure of the design, while taking into account the point at which Jordan was in his career and the elements he needed in a shoe to reinforce his reign. Out of retirement, Jordan won back-to-back championships in ’96 and ’97, and was hungry for the second three-peat of his career. His adversaries were hungry for a changing of the guard, so they defended him harder than ever before. Jordan took beatings every night, but preserving his speed and physicality was crucial on his run to another championship.
Jordan needed more comfort, flexibility, contact with the floor, and traction from his shoes. The XIII’s outsole, which mimics the paws of a cat and is still a part of the 2017 design, delivered just that. For much of the design and sketching process, Tinker also visualized a mid-foot strap for Jordan to make quick microadjustments to the tightness of the shoe. But the strap never materialized past the prototype. “As Michael tried on the shoe, laced it up and went out to play around a little bit, he said, ‘It doesn’t need a strap. Let’s not put anything on it that it doesn’t need.’ I agreed with him … and so, we dropped it,” said Tinker.
“This shoe, I think, wasn’t like anything before it. It was really quite a departure. Sometimes, shoes are more evolutionary. They’re a little bit like the previous one. This one wasn’t like anything before it,” he said. “Of course, that makes the salespeople nervous and the marketing people nervous, but Michael wasn’t nervous at all. He felt like this design, even though it was really different, was going to be successful for him as a player, but also in the marketplace. Of course it was, and here we are reissuing it again. So it’s proven itself.”