**Air Jordan III

First released: **1988

**Original retail: **$100

**Designed by: **Tinker Hatfield

Bruce Kilgore and Peter Moore left Nike, and Jordan's own deal was up in 1988. The two behind his previous kicks tried to get him to leave too, but ultimately Jordan stayed—partly because his father convinced him Nike was looking out for the star player, and partly because of a young designer named Tinker Hatfield. The Air Jordan III is arguably the sneaker that turned Jordans into a full-fledged fashion item. Incorporating a tumbled leather upper with the now-classic elephant print hits on the shoe, it also introduced the Jumpman logo on the tongue (originally the back of the shoes had the "Nike Air" branding). It was also revoluionary because it was the first basketball mid-top sneaker. The midsole was made from scuplted polyurethane, while the visible Air unit in the heel was gleaned from another of Hatfield's controversial sneakers—the Nike Air Max. The Air Jordan III's place in pop culture was cemented by utilizing director Spike Lee as the smart-mouthed Mars Blackmon character from his 1986 film She's Gotta Have It, in which Blackmon always rocked a fresh pair of Js. When people say: "It's gotta be the shoes," these are the shoes.