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The time has finally come. After months and months of leaks and rumors, Virgil Abloh Archive has officially announced the release of the V.A.A. x Air Jordan 1 High OG.
This AJ1 is a V.A.A. edition of the “Euro” Off-White x Air Jordan 1 and brings back an original design by the late Virgil Abloh originally released in 2018. This marks the first global release of a work drawn from the Virgil Abloh Archive, a collection of over 20,000 objects spanning Virgil’s creative practice. The all-white colorway serves as a fitting tribute to Abloh’s legacy, echoing the way Nike has honored Kobe Bryant through its minimalist all-white “Halo” Protro releases.
“V.A.A.’s mission is to keep Virgil’s ideas alive. The Archive exists not only to preserve Virgil’s work, but to share it with great care and intention,” says Shannon Abloh, founder and president of the Virgil Abloh Archive. “Virgil treasured his collaboration with Nike, and the Air Jordan 1 was deeply significant for him. As a teenager, it sparked his dream of becoming a designer, and it was the first pair he designed for Nike. It’s an honor to continue this partnership under the banner of V.A.A. for NIKE, advancing Virgil’s creative legacy together through exhibitions, publications, cultural programming, and new editions of his iconic designs.”
Growing up an hour outside of Chicago, the Air Jordan 1 was the shoe that inspired Virgil’s journey to become a designer. “Michael Jordan was our basketball player,” he said. “To me, he’s like Superman in real life. He would just put on a uniform and transform into this larger-than-life character. But it’s the shoes that were like his cape.”
When Nike approached Abloh to re-imagine the Air Jordan 1 for The Ten in 2017, he arrived on campus not with a presentation but with a question: where’s the airbag? He picked up an X-Acto knife and punctured the sole to find out. “If there is an airbag,” he said, “then I’m going to write the word ‘AIR’ on it.”
Revealing – to make the hidden visible – became a central pillar of Virgil’s early design language. His work spoke to how things were produced, materially and culturally, and through a set of visual motifs. This informed the signature details found on his Air Jordan 1 collabs, the exposed tongues, the orange tabs on the Swooshes, and the black ‘AIR’ lettering printed directly over the midsole’s air unit.
To celebrate the launch of the V.A.A. x Air Jordan 1 and The Virgil Reader Vol. 001, V.A.A. is bringing its WORLD’S FAIR programming series to seven cities that were central to Virgil’s life and practice: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.
The first activation takes place at ARCHITECTURE in Los Angeles on March 14-15. The festivities for the weekend will include artist talks, screenings, and workshops that highlight Virgil’s design practice, as well as an EQL raffle for the Air Jordan 1 High OG. The shoe will also be available at WORLD’S FAIR activations in other cities throughout the month of March and online via Canary Yellow, the online ‘Art Store’ founded by Virgil Abloh.
Following the WORLD’S FAIR programming, the Virgil Abloh Archive x Air Jordan 1 High OG launches globally on April 3rd via SNKRS and select retailers. Check out the official photos below.
Virgil Abloh Archive x Air Jordan 1 High OG
Color: White/White
Style Code: AA3834-100
Release Date: April 3, 2026 (Global)
Price: $230 USD
Resell: StockX / GOAT / KICKS CREW / eBay
Photos by Andrew Zuckerman Studio:
