 (1).jpg "Comparison of the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Lost & Found Chicago 2022 vs 2015 Version")
Best release of the year ?
The Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Lost & Found 'Chicago' finally released on November 19th last month & sold out instantly.
Even though there was a lot of speculation on big numbers for this release, the demand was still very high. No one would leave a pair on the shelf, either for rocking, stocking or flipping.
Prices on the secondary market were going down prior to the release as always but I don't think it will go lower now.
With a floor price of more than 1800€, the previous Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Chicago' 2015 is clearly not affordable for most Jordan brand fans.
So let's find out what are the differences between this year's release, the 2022's version versus the 2015 version.
Spoiler alert, there are a LOT of differences.
First of all, the Jordan boxes are completely different.
The 2015 version comes in a black and gold box which was really strange back then as most of the Air Jordan 1 High OG releases dropped in a Nike black and red box around that time.
This kind of box was used for a lot of the Air Jordan 1 Mid releases recently.
The 2022 version comes in Nike black & red box aged & with a used red cover which seems 'found' from another box. Jordan brand added a yellow sale tag & price as a sign of the past.
The papers inside the boxes are also really different.
The 2015 version includes the classic Off-white paper with the '23' number printed all over it.
The 2022 presents a paper with all the best Jordan commercials from back in the days.
The toe box shape feels a little bit more of a nice gradual slope on this year's version compared to
the 2015 version. As far as materials go on the toe box & the side panel this year's version has that vintage look through the cracked effect and sail color when the 2015 version keeps the clean & smooth classic white leather.
As far as the black swooshes go, they are pretty much identical but it still seems a little bit bigger on the 2022 version.
On this year's version the perforations at the front are a little bit more pronounced and larger than the 2015.
The color of the red leather appears to be more vibrant and bold on the 2015 version while the 2022 version is a little bit more faded and muted.
At the same time, the finish of the leather has a little bit more gloss on the 2015 version whereas this year's version looks more matte.
The aged effect is also applied on the midsoles and outsoles of the 2022's version : the midsoles are painted in that sail color and a vintage wash treatment was applied under the shoe.
The 2015 release has pure white midsoles which feels like a brand new DS pair.
Also note that on the outsoles, the stars seems a little bit more pronounced on the 2022 version.
In terms of the overall height and shape of these releases, the 2015 version is a little bit taller in height compared to the 2022 version.
Also, around that ankle area, the black part at the very top stands up straighter and is a little bit taller on the 2015 version whereas the 2022 version is more curved and rounded.
We can see many differences on the materials too.
The black leather used on the 2015 version is the classic one whereas this year's version has the cracked appearance to complete the OG look.
The inner liners of the shoe is constructed in a classic mesh with these larger holes on the 2015's version while this year's version is much more tightly wound with a smoother and silkier feel to the touch.
This year's version uses polyurethane insoles versus the 2015 version which got the classic foam ones. The Nike Air branding is black on the 2015 version and red on the 2022 version.
The wings logo on the lateral side are pretty different too.
The 2015 version includes the most common wings logo these days where it's debossed into the red leather and it's painted on top giving a shiny black finish.
This year's version is very close to the OG 85 look where it's embossed this time & painted in a matte black finish.
The tongues also got obvious differences.
The 2015 uses a classic white nylon whereas this year's has that aged off-white/sail tone to it.
At the very top, the tags are not the same. On this year's version, the font is a little bit thinner and Nike brought back the r for registered from the 85 edition.
About the other accessories & elements inside the boxes, the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 2015 version comes with the classic air jordan cardboard shoe trees.
The Lost & Found version includes old papers like the OG version.
Both releases comes with the original black laces. The 2015 version had 2 extra laces bagged : red and white.
This year version only comes with an extra pair of sail laces.
Both releases comes with the original black laces. The 2015 version had 2 extra laces bagged : red and white.
This year version only comes with an extra pair of sail laces.
In terms of sizing, both releases fit true to size from me. I would say that the 2022's version feels a little bit smaller especially if you have wide feet.
I still recommend to go true to size like most Air Jordan 1 High releases.
Finally the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 'Lost & Found' Chicago and the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG 2015 are different in many ways. But Jordan managed to keep it to the details.
They brought (once again) on the table a smart story telling to re-release the same but always different colorways of the past.
Important note about the price though : it went up from 150€ back in 2015 to 180€ this year. This is a significant price increase...
If I get to choose between the two, I would go with the 2015 release with no hesitation.
Even though this year release has a great story & cool details close to the OG pair, the look is not the fresh iconic Chicago image that I have in mind when I think about Michael playing on the courts.
If you got an OG pair, then you have your own story with it. It grows every time you are wearing it, makes sense. With this year's release, it feels like everyone got the same story from 1985 until now.
Anyway, other than that I am curious about how these will get old compare to the 2015 version, especially the cracked parts.
That being said, if you missed the 2015 release, no doubt that the Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG Lost & Found Chicago 2022 is a great choice for any Jordan Brand fans.
If you took that L for these, check the availability of the secondary market via the full release pages.