A Closer Look at the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low ‘Olive Swoosh'

Travis Scott’s run with Nike has been arguably unparalleled by any other collaborator, most definitely not by any other music artist. With over 20 projects in his catalogue, the Houston rapper has touched a myriad of silhouettes, colourways and generations with his work. 

When looking back at Scott’s music output in conjunction with his footwear projects with the current context of how successful he and his projects have been, it seems ludicrous that he wasn’t offered a footwear collaboration sooner. Nevertheless, it was in January of 2017 that he collaborated on his first footwear project with Helmut Lang, shortly before the release of ‘Astroworld’ in 2018.

At this time, Scott was on the precipice of his unrivalled trajectory. 

Later that year, the rapper would showcase his debut work with the Swoosh consisting of the Air Jordan Trunner, a friends and family exclusive, as well as his first rendition of an Air Force 1 featuring a primarily minimal upper detailed by removable Swooshes on the medial and lateral sides. 

Almost immediately, Travis received the green light from Nike to go crazy, and understandably so. With the release of Astroworld, he was on a whole new level of success firmly establishing himself within the mainstream, with the project debuting at No.1 on the Billboard 100 charts and widely being considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time. 

It was during this year that Scott and Nike released the ‘Houston Oilers’ Air Jordan 4, in addition to fans spotting at least two friends and family exclusive colourways, living in the rafters alongside the UNDEFEATED, KAWS and Carhartt x Eminem Air Jordan 4s as some of the most sought-after on the market. However, the artist didn’t stop there as he continued to release a second Air Force 1 which took a similar approach to his initial pair as well as a second, unreleased, Astroworld Festival-inspired colourway of the Air Jordan Trunner TL.

While the aforementioned releases were more than enough to get people enticed by what the duo were working on, it was in 2019 that the they made major waves. Once again showcasing several silhouettes including the Air Jordan 33, two Air Jordan 6s (one of which being an unreleased yellow colourway), a further two Air Force 1s (again with only one being released, a UNDFTD style one remains in the vault), it was the Air Jordan 1 ‘Mocha’ that took the world by storm. 

Initially arriving in a high-top variant, the sneaker was almost immediately crowned the best of the year if not the best of the decade marking what felt like a turning point in the progression of the sneaker industry permeating into the mainstream. Two months later, in July 2019, Nike shock dropped the low-top version of the shoe which similarly was met with critical acclaim as soon as it arrived. 

It was from that moment on that Travis Scott’s Air Jordan 1 lineage began, and continues to this day, leading up to the soon-to-be-released ‘Olive Swoosh’. Between 2019 and 2023, Scott and Nike have been cooking up a whole host of silhouettes and colourways, most notable of which was the collection of Air Jordan colourways including a triple collaboration with Fragment as well as a reverse take of the OG ‘Mocha’. 

Despite the high praise of each Air Jordan 1 x Travis Scott project, there was a sense of fatigue with each colourway seemingly straying further from the spark the original pair had back in 2019. A recent example of this is within the ‘Phantom Black’ colourway; while being wearable, it didn’t manage to captivate the audience in the same way. 

As of yet, we’re yet to see an official release from Nike and Travis Scott in 2023 despite an already mounting list of rumoured releases we can expect including a previously leaked elephant-style colourway of the Nike SB Dunk Low. 

Firstly, it’s the Air Jordan 1 ‘Olive Swoosh’ that is scheduled to arrive. Following a similar design language to prior colourways, the 5th addition to the evergrowing list of Air Jordan 1 Lows (not including F&F pairs similar to that seen worn by Hiroshi Fujiwara) takes a tonal approach combining sail, black and off-white features brought together with an olive green backwards Swoosh matching a similarly coloured outsole. The sneaker is accented with red detailing from the ‘Nike Air’, Jordan Wings and Cactus Jack logos on the tongue tab and heel in addition to a second set of laces that will feature alongside an olive green set.

Currently slated to release on the 25th of March, we’re yet to see official images of the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 1 Low ‘Olive Swoosh’. As we approach the release, it is noteworthy that this could be La Flame’s final Air Jordan 1 Low project as suggested by Sneaker News in a tweet in late 2022. While that claim is yet to be confirmed, it’s also reported that the release will be a Women’s exclusive. 

If the upcoming AJ1 Low is the last colourway Scott and Jordan Brand work on, fans shouldn’t be alarmed as the artist is certain to have many plans for the year ahead with possibly some new silhouettes such as the Nike Mac Attack in his arsenal as well as releasing his highly anticipated project ‘Utopia’. 

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