The buzz surrounding a limited edition pair of a Philippine-inspired Jordan sneakers coincided with the opening of the country’s first Jordan Brand store this week.
A select few were able to cop the “Manila” colorway of the Jordan 4 retro shoes during the store’s opening Thursday at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig on the condition that they wear the pair upon purchase.
Social media posts confirmed the arrangement in an apparent move to prevent resellers from selling them at an astronomical value or claim that the shoes are deadstock, a sneaker term that describes the pair being in brand new condition and never worn.
But popular online reselling site StockX.com has several pairs being sold for at least $9,000 (P432,000).
Only 150 pairs of the colorway were available and those who got to buy one had to go through an online raffle.
PBA star Kiefer Ravena did cause some stir when he sported the shoes even before it became available during the Jordan Brand store launch earlier in the week.
Some were quick to criticize the NLEX guard, who reportedly responded to one basher and said that he was asked by Nike Philippines to wear the rare pair.
The shoe is a retro version of the one Michael Jordan wore when he hit a buzzer-beating jumper in the Chicago Bulls’ victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the 1989 NBA Playoffs.
The shoe is mostly colored in green, a homage to the country’s tropical islands, while the outsoles feature the colors blue, red and yellow.