Nike : Air Jordan XI Concord

Not only is MJ responsible for making Air Jordans part of basketball history on the court, he's also credited with creating some of his signature line's most iconic features. Dating back to the design of the AJ IX, MJ had been asking Hatfield and his design team to push the envelope and incorporate patent leather. His reasoning was two-fold. First and foremost, the patent leather would help keep his forefoot locked-in on quick stops and cuts. Secondly, MJ predicted the patent leather would be a hit off the court, even going as far as saying people would wear them on red carpets and at other formal events. Hatfield, who admits to being initially skeptical of MJ's suggestion, eventually bought into the idea and added it to the AJ XI. By the time people internally saw the design, they weren't asking, 'Why the shiny leather?', they were asking why he was making another signature model for the retired MJ in the first place. He knew MJ well enough to know the AJ XI would get its time to shine.