The Air Jordan 1 is nonpareil when it comes to the ubiquity it experiences, thanks to its archetypal design and its imbedded legendary narrative, one thing remains the ire of even its most ardent fans: it just isn’t the most comfortable pair for a long day. And with the technological advancements in sneaker design today, the pain becomes more apparent. Nonetheless, its maker is listening.

Thus, comes this contemporary retrofitting. The Zoom CMFT sole unit, and the leather and textile upper introduces a broken-in feel to a notoriously stiff pair. A lined, padded collar provides a more secure fit on the heel and the aforementioned midsoles is integrated with such subtlety that it’s almost indistinguishable from its forebear, improving a classic without touching its classic elements.

There have been other colorways released of the model before, but for every hundred flamboyant ones, there’s at least an austere greyscale outfitting. And it’s arrived.

Save for the improvements on the technology, the spirit of the AJ 1 remains largely undisturbed. Grey leather anchors the pair on the toe box, quarter, and ankle collar, with the rest finished off with black overlays. Soft suede comes through on the mudguard, collar, and heel while a hairy suede finish on the eye stays.

For branding elements, black die-cut Swooshes is emblazoned on the profiles with the Air Jordan Wings on the collar and the “Zoom Air” on the tongue tags come in white.

There’s no release date for the pair yet but they’re expected to drop on SNKRS for US$140 in the coming weeks.

In other retrofitting of classic silhouettes, check out the Nike Air More Uptempo Embossed.