The Air Jordan 1 High OG “Royal” returns on Saturday, October 10, bringing one of the original black-and-blue colorways back for its first release in nearly a decade.
Unlike many original Air Jordan colorways, “Royal” wasn’t built around a memorable NBA game or championship moment. Michael Jordan never wore the shoe on court during an NBA game, but its connection to the earliest years of his Nike partnership gave it a different kind of history.
An Original Black and Blue Colorway
The 2026 release sticks with the standard Air Jordan 1 High OG construction rather than adopting the altered proportions of the ’85 shape.
Black leather forms the base of the upper, with Varsity Royal appearing across the toe box, Swooshes, ankle panels and heel. The Royal leather has a more textured finish than the material used on the 2017 release, particularly around the collar and back of the shoe.
A white midsole breaks up the black-and-blue upper, while a matching Royal outsole completes the original color arrangement.
The Story Behind the Flight Guy Photograph
The “Royal” colorway’s history is closely connected to a 1985 Nike photoshoot with photographer Chuck Kuhn.
For the Oregon shoot, Jordan wore the black-and-blue Air Jordan 1 rather than a Bulls-inspired black-and-red pair. One of the resulting photographs showed Jordan standing on an open road wearing the Royals. That image would later become widely recognized through the “Flight Guy” poster.
The photographs helped establish the Air Jordan 1 beyond the basketball court, presenting Jordan and the shoe through a broader lifestyle image at the beginning of his relationship with Nike.
Special Packaging for 2026
Jordan Brand returns to the Kuhn photoshoot for the 2026 packaging.
The familiar open-road image appears across the outside of the box, while additional photographs from the session are featured inside. The packaging gives the release a direct visual connection to the moment that helped establish “Royal” as an important part of early Air Jordan history.
It’s a fitting treatment for a colorway that became iconic without ever appearing on Jordan’s feet during an NBA game.
The Air Jordan 1 High OG “Royal” releases Saturday, October 10, 2026, in store at Overload and online right HERE!
