Sneakers that conquered the world
When you sit down to designsomething, it can be anything, a car, a toaster, a house, a tallbuilding or a shoe, what you draw or what you design is really a culmination of everything that you've seen and done in your life previous to that point.
Tinker Hatfield is one of theworld’s most legendarysneaker designers, andcurrently Nike’s VicePresident for Design andSpecial Projects. He designedthe Air Jordan 3 through 15before taking a break fromthe line, and then comingback to design…
Joins Nike after graduating
from the University of Oregon
School of Architecture.
Begins working exclusively on
sneaker design for Nike.
Designs the Air Max 1, the
first Nike sneaker to have a translucent bubble sole displaying the Air bag unit, which had been a part of Nike’s technology since 1979. He also designs the Air Trainer 1 for multipurpose athletic endeavors—a model that tennis player John McEnroe takes a liking to.
Designs the Air Jordan 3,
the first of his sneaker designs with Michael Jordan. The sneaker’s design and its popularity arguably saves Nike’s relationship with Jordan and keeps him from jumping to rivals adidas.
Designs the Nike Air MAG
for Back to the Future II.
Designs the Air Max 90.
Also designs the Air Jordan V, which took inspiration from fighter planes, giving the sneaker “teeth” on the midsole. It’s thick, reflective 3M tongue became famous for dominating photos in camera flashes—a nod to Jordan’s success at the time.
Continues to design Michael Jordan’s annual signature sneaker line, with notable models being the Air Jordan XI for its use of patent leather, and the Air Jordan XIII for capturing Jordan’s speed in a design.
Releases his own “Tinker Hatfield” Jordan 3, which is based on his earliest sketches of the iconic sneaker. It features a classic Nike Swoosh on the midfoot, giving a whole new look to one of Jordan brand’s finest heritage sneakers.
University of Oregon School
Tinker HATFIELD at work
Air Jordan 3
Back to the Future II
Air Max 90
Air Jordan XI
Jordan 3
Joins Nike after graduating
from the University of Oregon School of Architecture.
University of Oregon School
Begins working exclusively on sneaker design for Nike.
Tinker HATFIELD at work
Designs the Air Max 1, the
first Nike sneaker to have a translucent bubble sole displaying the Air bag unit, which had been a part of Nike’s technology since 1979. He also designs the Air Trainer 1 for multipurpose athletic endeavors—a model that tennis player John McEnroe takes a liking to.
Designs the Air Jordan 3,
the first of his sneaker designs with Michael Jordan. The sneaker’s design and its popularity arguably saves Nike’s relationship with Jordan and keeps him from jumping to rivals adidas.
Air Jordan 3
Designs the Nike Air MAG for Back to the Future II.
Back to the Future II
Designs the Air Max 90. Also designs the Air Jordan V, which took inspiration from fighter planes, giving the sneaker “teeth” on the midsole. It’s thick, reflective 3M tongue became famous for dominating photos in camera flashes—a nod to Jordan’s success at the time.
Air Max 90
Continues to design Michael Jordan’s annual signature sneaker line, with notable models being the Air Jordan XI for its use of patent leather, and the Air Jordan XIII for capturing Jordan’s speed in a design.
Air Jordan XI
Releases his own “Tinker Hatfield” Jordan 3, which is based on his earliest sketches of the iconic sneaker. It features a classic Nike Swoosh on the midfoot, giving a whole new look to one of Jordan brand’s finest heritage sneakers.
Jordan 3
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As attentive to new silhouettes as they are old, Jordan Brand‘s 2020 has been rife with long-awaited retros and a complementary run of colorways for the Jordan React Elevation.
“So, I was thinking to myself, we better have a shoe for him when he unretires. The whole thing can’t be a broken string, he’ll just wear the newest shoe that we’ve designed for him,” he said. Thus, he did complete the design of the Air Jordan X. The shoe became incredibly famous for highlighting MJ’s achievements on its sole.
Nike’s reaction to the first retirement of Michael Jordan
Hatfield usually gets the ideas for his designs working from home. On one such day, he suddenly gets a call from his boss, Phil Knight. “Pack your bags. We are going to Chicago,” Knight exclaimed on the phone. Asking his boss the sudden requirement to fly down to Chicago, he received a shocking response. Phil Knight answered, “We’re going to Chicago because Michael Jordan is going to announce his retirement.”
“So he says that there is going to be a huge press conference and he wants me and Howard White to be there. He was really, really sad. Phil was almost morose,” Hatfield recalled.He could sense the disappointment in Knight’s tone. “You could just tell in his voice that he was super sad, and to him, it was almost the end of an era.” Upon receiving the news, Hatfield wanting to get rid of it, just went back to his studio to continue with
the designing process.
How did Hatfield come up with the design for Air Jordan X?
Being a part of the design teamfor Air Jordan since its inception, Hatfield just felt like he knew Jordan really well. “I just thought and knew immediately that it was just going to be a little break. Knowing Michael,I just knew him. So I went back to the studio and began working on how these stripes were going to be drawn.”
He wanted to focus on the milestones MJ had achieved in his NBA journey. “I wanted to just make a feature out of the 10 years of his career, even though there wasn’t going to be a tenth year.” The designer even tremendously predicted that MJ would be back after a brief period away from basketball.
Tinker Hatfield
If you think you are very talented, but don't know what to do, you can send me an letter and maybe I will answer you
When you sit down to design something, it can be anything, a car, a toaster, a house, a tall building or a shoe, what you draw or what you design is really a culmination of everything that you've seen and done in your
life previous to that point.
