2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the Air Jordan 1, the celebration of which has been led by the near one-to-one recreation of the original “Bred” colorway as well as several high-profile releases of others. Within this year of looking back on the sneaker that started it all, an ultra rare version has now emerged with only 12 pairs believed to be in existence.
The Air Jordan 1 High ’85 “UNC Metallic” is essentially a mashup of original colorways from 1985 and 1986. Both the color-blocking and metallic sheen from the “Metallic” series are applied here for the first time in the powder blue of Michael Jordan’s University of North Carolina. It also uses the ’85 cut typically used for original colorways rather than brand-new ones.
You May Also Like
Related Stories
A renowned collector and a reseller specializing in rare sneakers both got their hands on pairs recently. Kenny Gonzalez, known on Instagram as @the_perfect_pair, showed his pair in a tour of his collection with the Arizona-based resale store Common Hype. He estimated just 12 pairs were made and said, even though the sneakers are considered player-exclusives, they weren’t actually made for players given how low the production run was.
Product images of the “UNC Metallic” Air Jordan 1 come from English Sole.
While this colorway isn’t likely to ever get a release, May will see the launch of the Air Jordan 1 High “UNC Reimagined,” which brings back the original Tar Heels colorway with faux-aging on its sole unit and collar.
The beloved “Shattered Backboard” edition will then make its return in July, and a “Reverse Shadow” drop in the summer will bring a once-unreleased sample to market. Perhaps the biggest of all Air Jordan 1 releases this year, if not sneakers period, will come in November with the first-ever rerelease for the Off-White x Air Jordan 1 High “Alaska.”
