How Air Jordan Took Over America’s Wildest Party Neighborhood

Yesterday, in tandem with the start of All-Star Weekend in New Orleans, Air Jordan opened a store in the heart of the city’s French Quarter neighborhood. Located at 221 Chartres St., the shop is just a few blocks away from Bourbon Street—a street that’s known as much for its debauchery as it is for its jazz. And this weekend has been particularly bonkers in NOLA considering it’s also the start of Mardis Gras. But a few hundred thousand daiquiri-slurping tourists and pouring rain couldn’t stop sneakerheads from dominating the block by turning out to check out the Jordan pop-up, which was chock full of exclusive gear, from New Orleans-themed T-shirts to Air Jordan sneakers that won’t hit other retailers for another month. Specifically, the sneaker most people turned up for was the Air Jordan 1 “All-Star,” an iridescent take on the classic style. But those went quick, so there were others to be had too—like the iridescent Air Jordan 6 or the Frankensteined, red, white, black, and blue Air Jordan 1s that have been flooding city streets for weeks. See more at GQ.