Project Files: Creating the Sample Air Jordan "Toe Cap" 10

December 12, 2022

Recreating the OG Air Jordan 10 Design

Did you know that the first Air Jordan 10 featured a leather toe cap? The design you know and love today lacks that extra leather piece...but why?

Read on to learn more about the history of the Air Jordan 10 design, and a little bit more about this nostalgiac project.

Behind the Design

Picture this: It's 1994. Nike is working on rolling out the Air Jordan 10, the successor to the AJ 9. After much trial, tribulation, and deliberation, they've finally settled on a design. But, one very important person had a few things to say about the design, and singled out one thing that he just couldn't stand — the toe cap.

After receiving the constructive feedback from MJ, the brand decided to scrap the original design and pulled the shoe from the shelves. Oh, what could have been!

That tiny piece of leather has long since been forgotten by everyone...well...almost everyone.

That last minute change to the OG Air Jordan 10 didn't sit right with Vick...so he called in his good buddy Flippin Kickz (Alex) to produce that same shoe, a sample, with the toe cap and all.

About Flippin Kickz

Alex (Flippin Kickz) is what we call a sneaker restoration savant. After serving his country in the Military, Alex returned home and found civilian life unforgiving.

In efforts to make a good life for himself, Alex turned to something he'd always known and loved — sneakers. Inspired by those who've gone before him, Alex did anything and everything he could to learn the trade of sneaker restoration.

Fast forward to now, the husband and father is inarguably one of the best restorers in the game. His speciality? OG Air Jordans...or as he calls it, "recreating originality."

Just how good is Alex? He's already booked well into 2023. When you're the best at what you do it's not hard to find people interested in your services. We're grateful that he was able to take some time to help us with this project (and a few more, coming soon).

From No Cap to Toe Cap

The video above does not do this project justice. The time and effort Vick and Alex put into this project have to be mentioned.

Take a guess how long you think it took to pull this off? From start to finish, Vick and Alex spent close to 20 hours designing, creating, and executing the perfect plan.

Was the project without its challenges? Never. Even with the talents of Alex and Vick's attention to detail, things didn't go over as smoothly as they'd hoped.

The actual leather piece for the toe cap gave our dynamic duo the most trouble. Vick had to redo and recut the toe cap seven times before finally getting it right.

Other Key Details

Besides adding the infamous toe cap, a few key details were added that you won't see on first glance. For example, the AIR unit on this pair of 10s was toast. Vick and Alex removed the old, crumbled AIR unit and replaced it with some EVA foam.

The shoe was also given a full reglue, making the shoe 100 percent wearable!