Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Royal'

A colorway with no game

The Air Jordan 1, designed by Peter Moore, went on sale on April 1, 1985, at $65. Alongside the red-and-black pairs in Chicago Bulls colors, Nike made a black-and-royal-blue version that had nothing to do with the Bulls.

Jordan never wore the 'Royal' in an NBA game. Wearing it would have broken league uniform rules, which already had Nike in trouble over black-and-red shoes. One sneaker writer notes that Jordan wore nearly every other Nike design on court in his Bulls years and later with the Wizards, which makes the Royal's fame unusual.

Flight Guy

The Royal's place in the story comes from a photograph. In 1985 Nike sent sports photographer Chuck Kuhn to shoot its new signee on a cold Oregon morning. Jordan wore a royal-and-black Nike flight suit and the Royal Air Jordan 1s, standing on a runway with a private jet behind him. The jet was not planned, but it became the backdrop of the image known as 'Flight Guy,' sold as a poster.

Jordan Brand has said royal blue and black was Jordan's favorite color combination; one writer pointed out the irony that those are also Duke's colors.

The shoe found a second audience in skateboarding. Pro skater Lance Mountain wore mismatched Royals in the skate film The Search for Animal Chin, and skaters Tommy Guerrero and Christian Hosoi wore the style as well; Nike's skateboarding line later reissued it with Mountain.

Retros: 2001, 2013 and the 2017 remaster

The Royal returned in 2001 and again in 2013, both times in smooth leather. A side-by-side comparison found that the 2013 pair's blue was the furthest from the original shade.

The 2017 pair, a quick follow-up to 2013, released on April 1, 2017, for $160, exactly 32 years after the Air Jordan 1's first retail day. It came in remastered form with tumbled leather, black and royal color blocking, a white midsole and a blue rubber outsole, and the shape changed from the earlier retros. The same day, Nike released an Air Jordan XXXI in a 'Flight Guy' colorway at $185.

On October 3, 2026, a new pair of 555088-007 was listed at a sneaker resale shop at $232. A newer Royal, style code IQ5495-005 in Black/Game Royal-White with a 'Flight Guy' box, was scheduled for October 10, 2026.

How to identify the 2017 pair

Look for style code 555088-007 on the size tag and box label. Varsity Royal tumbled leather covers the toe box, Swooshes, heel and ankle, with black premium leather on the rest of the upper, over a white midsole and a royal blue outsole.

Tumbled leather is the quickest way to separate the 2017 pair from the smooth-leather 2001 and 2013 retros. The blue shade and the overall shape also differ between the three.

Why it matters

The Royal is the clearest case of an Air Jordan made famous by an image rather than a game. As one writer put it, it has no Bulls colors, no on-court history and no famous moment attached, yet it remains one of the most recognized Air Jordan 1 colorways ever made.

The 2017 pair completed a run of remastered 555088 retros of the original colorways, after the 2015 'Chicago' and 2016 'Banned,' and Jordan Brand returned to the Flight Guy story with the box for its 2026 Royal.

The numbers

Style code

555088-007

Colorway

Black/Varsity Royal-White

Release date

April 1, 2017

Retail price

$160

Production

Not published by Nike in any source found

Original 1985 retail

$65

Timeline

1. Apr 1, 1985

   The Air Jordan 1 goes on sale at $65; the black-and-royal colorway is part of the original lineup.

2. 1985

   Chuck Kuhn photographs Jordan in Oregon for Nike in a royal-and-black flight suit and Royal Air Jordan 1s, producing the 'Flight Guy' image.

3. 2001

   The Royal Air Jordan 1 returns as a retro in smooth leather.

4. 2013

   Another smooth-leather Royal retro; its blue is the furthest from the original.

5. Apr 1, 2017

   The Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Royal' 555088-007 releases at $160 in tumbled leather, alongside a 'Flight Guy' Air Jordan XXXI at $185.

6. Oct 3, 2026

   A new 2017 pair is listed at $232 at a sneaker resale shop.

7. Oct 10, 2026

   Scheduled release of a new Royal, IQ5495-005, with a 'Flight Guy' box.

The world in 2017

• Jan 20, 2017

  Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45th president.

• Jan 21, 2017

  The Women's March draws an estimated 2.9 million people across the U.S.

• Feb 5, 2017

  The Patriots beat the Falcons 34-28 in the first overtime Super Bowl.

• Mar 18, 2017

  Rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry dies at 90.

• Apr 6, 2017

  The U.S. launches 59 Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base.

• Apr 22, 2017

  The March for Science is held.

• May 21, 2017

  Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus stages its final show after 146 years.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Royal' is number 91 of 100 in the sneakers entries of the FLOAT 100. 22 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (66 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Jordan never wore the Royal Air Jordan 1 in an NBA game.
• The jet behind Jordan in the 'Flight Guy' photo was not part of the plan.
• Royal blue and black are said to be Jordan's favorite colors, which one writer called ironic since they are also Duke's colors.
• Skater Lance Mountain wore mismatched Royals in the film The Search for Animal Chin.
• The 2017 pair released on April 1, the 32nd anniversary of the Air Jordan 1's first retail day.