Air Jordan 5

In 1990, Designer Tinker Hatfield continued to push the envelope with the Air Jordan line. His creativity and innovative thinking continued on several levels with the design of the Air Jordan V. The shoe featured an asymmetrical collar and the cut of the shoe was higher than the previous two Air Jordans. The V still had the sculpted midsole, but included a new pattern inspired by a World War II fighter plane.

The visible air unit carried over from the III and IV, as did the use of mesh from the AJ IV. The outsole of the V was made of translucent rubber while very thin, clear rubber adorned the side panel of the upper and the lower part of the tongue.

Certain colorways of the AJ V used reflective 3M material on the tongue - a nice innovation to the Jordan line. On every Jordan V, an "AIR JORDAN" patch was stitched on the inside of the tongue.

Another first was the Grape Purple /Emerald colorway that had never been seen on a basketball shoe.

The heel of the AJ V was built with strong ankle support. The heel featured a stitched "NIKE AIR" logo with a Swoosh underneath. Lace locks were included with the Air Jordan V for added lockdown.

The V continued the great success of the Air Jordan line and came at a good time as Michael Jordan was hitting his stride in the NBA.

Jordan Brand has re-released the Air Jordan V in multiple colorways, including the original Grape, Fire Red and Black/Silver colorways as well as the White/Royal/Maze color inspired by Jordan's high school alma mater, Laney High.

While rocking the Air Jordan V in 1990, Michael Jordan made his sixth straight All-Star game appearance, won his fourth straight league scoring title and was named to the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team. Although the Bulls lost to the Pistons in the 1990 Conference Finals, Jordan was on the verge of one of the NBA's greatest dynasties - and driving the footwear industry to new heights.