Breaking Down New Air Jordan IX 'Olive' Shoes

The release of the Air Jordan IX "Kilroy" pack began a wave of fall releases from the brand, and that runaway train doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. On Nov. 17 the Jordan brand will release its latest iteration of the famed Jordan IX with the "Olive" colorway.

Adorned with a black leather base and a suede olive contrast, these kicks are certainly the most unique of the recent releases. However, if history tells us anything, it's that unique innovation oftentimes leads to the Jordan brand's best instances of innovation.

Or, well, it could lead to horrifying releases. 

How do these kicks grade out? Here is a complete breakdown of the Jordan IX "Olive" shoes. 

"Wow" Factor: 7/10

This all essentially boils down to what your definition of a "wow" factor truly is.

If your definition only includes "wow, those are really nice" or "wow, those are really eye-catching on first glance," then you probably think I'm rating these way too high.

However, you would all be lying if you didn't admit you looked at these shoes for a long while after seeing the first picture. It may have been to say "wow, can't believe someone would buy these," but you looked nonetheless.

With that all factored in, let's get the mastodon in the room out of the way: These are not whatsoever aesthetically pleasing. The strange olive coloring will be what everyone focuses on, but that could have been salvaged had the designers chosen a different base color.

As it stands, the black leather does not contrast enough with the olive and actually makes it look worse when meshed together. 

Either way, whether it's positive or negative thinking, the Jordan IX "Olive" kicks will get you to sit and ponder for a moment. 

Design: 4/10

Knowing the man hours designers at the Jordan brand put into each release, I've always had a tough time giving a failing grade on a pair of kicks. Unfortunately, I have no choice but to give these kicks the lowest grade I've ever handed out design-wise. 

We touched on this a little bit in the previous section, but the black leather was the wrong choice as a base. Meant to give a premium feel to this iteration of the Jordan IX, it instead makes them look, frankly, cheap.

Any colorway with that questionable olive color would get slammed in some circles, but if you're going to go for it, white leather is the obvious choice. It contrasts with the olive and would at least make for a simplistic, but wearable, colorway.

I do want to praise the use of suede here.

That along with the black leather shows the effort was certainly there to make these a worthwhile set of kicks.

In the end, the execution just wasn't there.

Overall: 5.5/10

With the flood of releases coming out for the Jordan IX, we were bound to eventually hit a dud and the "Olive" colorway seems to be that bump in the road.

Obviously these kicks are a must-have for collectors. No matter your feelings on the colorway, it's an official release and your collection will be incomplete without purchasing a pair.

On the other hand, there are very few instances where I would recommend these to the casual buyer. The colorway isn't aesthetically pleasing and there aren't exactly a ton of people who are looking to match their olive shirt with a fresh pair of Jordans.

The Jordan IX is a comfortable shoe and one that is great for on-court and off-court wear. Nevertheless, with the release of a variety of different colorways in recent weeks you can get a better look at the same $160 price.

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