Jordan Brand Unveils Morocco-Inspired Air Ship Zellige Sneakers in Collaboration with Parisian Store Opium

Inspired by zellige, the design of the limited edition Jordan Air Ship Zellige "evokes the Moroccan roots of Opium: the history before the store," Nike says on its official website, specifying that Yace and Mounir, the co-founders of this establishment in the Châtelet district, specialized in sportswear since 2001, "have shown courage and pursued their passions to create a successful community-focused store and creative platform."

The two Franco-Moroccan friends have remained true to their original goal of "spreading streetwear culture in the French landscape and inspiring young people to bring original ideas to advance the culture," recalls Nike, which draws attention to two elements featured on the special edition: the stars and the mosaic pattern inspired by Moroccan zellige, "a hand-made enameled decorative tile made in Morocco."

A promotional video shot in Morocco and widely shared on social media explains how this model came about, between Casablanca and Paris. It tells the story of the stay in Casablanca of Allan Guenaoui, founder of Huncho Family, a brand that promotes Moroccan artisanal heritage, and rapper Nayra, "at the heart of their origins and traditional Moroccan art: zellige," explains Opium on its Instagram page.

In the video, we see the two personalities visiting the Habous district where three elderly men, in djellabas and wearing the new Jordan Air Ship, are playing checkers. The two friends also visited the Aït Manos store, a traditional zellige manufacturing workshop. A second video shows the two friends back in Paris "inspired by zellige in their workshop" to create the pattern on the Jordan Air Ship Zellige. The Jordan Air Ship Zellige will be sold for 150 euros from June 29 on the Opium website.