Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Shadow'

The colorway that wasn't about the Bulls

The Air Jordan 1 reached stores in April 1985 in black and red, the scheme collectors now call 'Bred.' A few months later, in September 1985, Nike widened the lineup with a group of new colors, and one of them dropped team colors altogether: a black upper with grey overlays on a white sole. Collectors named it the 'Shadow.'

The count of that first wave depends on who is counting. One sneaker history says 'Shadow' was one of nine high-top colorways released in September 1985; a reseller's history describes it as one of 14 original colorways; a collector archive lists ten 1985-1986 pairs, including one low. All agree on the essential point: the Shadow was there from the start.

Unlike the 'Chicago' and 'Black Toe,' the only two Air Jordan 1 colorways the collector archive records Jordan wearing in NBA games, the Shadow was a shoe for the street.

Peter Moore, a rookie, and a $65 bet

Nike signed Michael Jordan in 1984 to a deal reported at $500,000 a year for five years, plus a royalty on every pair sold. Designer Peter Moore drew both the shoe and its 'Wings' logo. The Jumpman would not appear on an Air Jordan until the Air Jordan 3 in 1988, which left the Air Jordan 1 as the only model with both the Swoosh and the Wings until the Air Jordan 31 in 2016.

The shoe sold for $65 in 1985. Nike sold $70 million worth of Air Jordans in the first two months. Jordan himself reportedly disliked the design at first before coming around to it.

The NBA, meanwhile, had a uniformity rule requiring shoes to be at least 51% white and to match team colors, and a league letter dated February 25, 1985, cited Jordan's sneakers. The Shadow, with no team colors at all, was never part of that fight.

Four returns in a quarter century

After 1985 the Shadow vanished for more than two decades. Its first retro came in 2009 at $110, followed by a 2013 release at $140. The April 14, 2018, pair on this page, at $160, was described at release as only the fourth time the colorway had appeared since retros began. Sources differ on when the Air Jordan 1 retro program itself began, with one dating the first retros to 1994 and another to 1995.

The 2018 pair went back to leather after a Flyknit version of the Shadow earlier that year, and release coverage emphasized 'tumbled leather' and OG details like the 'Nike Air' tongue tag. Designer Aleali May had also reworked the colorway in 2017 with corduroy and satin panels and a chenille Swoosh.

Variations followed. The 'Shadow 2.0' of May 15, 2021, at $170, used the same neutral palette with grey nubuck overlays on black leather. A satin 'Satin Shadow' at $180, with a grey outsole in place of black, was announced for an October 5 release on Nike's app after a 'Satin Bred' version from October 2023.

On October 3, 2026, a U.S. sneaker reseller listed the 2018 Shadow from $291, a little under twice its $160 retail price.

How to identify the 2018 pair

Check the style code on the size label: 555088-013, with the color listed as Black/Medium Grey-White. The 2018 pair has a black leather base with medium grey overlays, a white midsole and a black outsole.

The 'Nike Air' branding on the tongue tag and insoles marks it as an OG-style retro. The Shadow 2.0 reverses the materials story with grey nubuck overlays and a grey Swoosh, and the satin version swaps leather for satin and a grey sole, so neither should be confused with this pair.

The numbers

Release date

April 14, 2018

Retail price

$160

Style code

555088-013

Retail price history

1985: $65; 2009: $110; 2013: $140; 2018: $160

Production

Not stated by Nike

Timeline

1. 1984

   Nike signs Michael Jordan; Peter Moore designs the Air Jordan 1 and the Wings logo.

2. Feb 25, 1985

   An NBA letter cites Jordan's sneakers under the league's uniformity rules.

3. Apr 1985

   The Air Jordan 1 goes on sale at $65 in black and red.

4. Sep 1985

   The 'Shadow' arrives in the second wave of Air Jordan 1 colorways.

5. 2009

   The Shadow returns as a retro for the first time, at $110.

6. 2013

   Second Shadow retro, at $140.

7. 2017

   Aleali May reworks the colorway with corduroy, satin and a chenille Swoosh.

8. 2018

   A Flyknit Shadow releases ahead of the leather retro.

9. Jan 11, 2018

   First images of the 2018 leather Shadow appear.

10. Apr 14, 2018

    The Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Shadow,' 555088-013, releases at $160.

11. May 15, 2021

    The 'Shadow 2.0' releases at $170.

12. Oct 3, 2026

    A U.S. reseller lists the 2018 pair from $291.

The world in 2018

• Feb 4, 2018

  The Philadelphia Eagles beat New England 41-33 for their first Super Bowl title.

• Feb 16, 2018

  Marvel's Black Panther is released.

• Apr 10, 2018

  Mark Zuckerberg is questioned by the U.S. Senate.

• Apr 17, 2018

  Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 suffers an engine failure.

• Apr 27, 2018

  Avengers: Infinity War is released.

• Jun 7, 2018

  The Washington Capitals win the Stanley Cup.

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 'Shadow' is number 78 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 (67 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• The Shadow uses no Bulls colors at all: just black, grey and white.
• After 1985, the Shadow went 24 years without a retro, returning only in 2009.
• The Air Jordan 1 was the only Air Jordan to carry both the Nike Swoosh and the Wings logo until the Air Jordan 31 in 2016.
• Nike sold $70 million worth of Air Jordans in the first two months of 1985.
• Michael Jordan reportedly disliked the Air Jordan 1's design at first.