Over the years, BSTN has achieved international acclaim for going the metaphorical extra mile for sneaker release-events. From decking out the entire outside wall of our Munich-based flagship store in Jordan Brand’s distinctive elephant-print to taking over private jets and Lamborghinis – we’ve always stuck to our motto of ‘Go big or go home!’. So when the iconic Air Jordan XI Concord was announced to make a comeback in 2018, going big was not a question for the hoop heads that run BSTN. It was a matter of honor.
Building on Michael Jordan’s well-documented passion for motorcycle racing, BSTN has teamed up with Germany’s leading customization workshop to create a one-of-a-kind bike for the culture, for the love of basketball or quite simply put, for the ages: The BSTN Ducati 916 ‘Concord’. The pioneering basketball shoe as well as the trailblazing racing motorcycle have each pushed the envelope for design as well as performance in their respective fields during the 90s and have retained iconic relevance until today. The two icons have joined forces in BSTN’s latest home run swing of sneaker releases.
Therefore, each and every part of the Ducati 916, the racing bike that has dominated its competition during the 1990s, has been extravagantly tailored or even recreated using 3D-print technology to fit the Air Jordan XI design concept. It’s all custom all the way. Some of the myriad customization features include:
- The traction pattern of the AJ XI lasered into the bike’s tires
- A custom seat mimicking the shoes’ revolutionary upper with a blend of outdoor materials, leather, and neoprene
- Laser-engraving of Jay-Z’s legendary “Back like 45” lyric on the brake disks
- High-end piano paint used on the bodywork representing the Concord’s unique use of patent leather
- See-through handlebars inspired by the distinct icy outsole of the XI
- Carbon fiber and purple details across the bike for those in the know
- Sophisticated branding tying in the number 45, found on the heel tab of the 2018 release
As Tinker Hatfield, the legendary designer of the Air Jordan XI, has put it himself, the shoe represented a “big leap forward“, as illustrated in the infamous ad campaign that accompanied the AJ XI’s original launch more than twenty-three years ago. Born in Italy in 1995, honored in Chicago in 1995/96 and ultimately re-born in Munich in 2018, the Ducati 916 ‘Concord’ pays homage to the past while paying forward its design concept for the release of the retro. A true masterpiece for an original icon!
