Image: @ryancooper___
A previously unseen Off-White x Air Jordan 1 sample has surfaced, revealing a Black/Yellow colorway created during Virgil Abloh’s groundbreaking work with Nike and Jordan Brand.
Images of the shoe were shared by Instagram user @ryancooper___, who describes the pair as a Look See sample dating back to 2018. Structurally, the sneaker appears nearly identical to the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 that ultimately reached retail, complete with its deconstructed construction, exposed foam, oversized detached Swoosh, contrast stitching, and signature industrial text detailing.
Image: @ryancooper___
Rather than the “Chicago” arrangement that debuted as part of The Ten, this sample pairs a predominantly black upper with bright yellow accents, offering a dramatically different interpretation of Abloh’s Air Jordan 1.
Image: @ryancooper___
What makes the pair even more interesting is how little documentation appears to exist around it. The colorway had not previously surfaced publicly and does not appear to have been cataloged within the wider Virgil Abloh archive. According to the collector, somewhere between one and three pairs may exist.
Image: @ryancooper___
Nearly a decade after The Ten fundamentally changed the direction of sneaker collaborations, unreleased concepts from Abloh’s design process continue to emerge. Numerous samples, alternate colorways, and prototypes have surfaced over the years, but a previously undocumented Air Jordan 1 carries particular weight.
The silhouette sat at the center of the Off-White x Nike story and became one of the defining sneakers of Virgil’s collaboration with the Swoosh. It also arrived during the Air Jordan 1’s major resurgence, helping push the model even deeper into the center of sneaker culture through the late 2010s and early 2020s.
