Named after the fictional queen from fifteenth-century epic Las sergas de Esplandián, the Aleali May and Jordan Brand collection "Califia" is centered around May’s take on the Air Jordan 1 High Zoom CMFT and also includes her first apparel collection with Jordan Brand.
Besides its regal naming inspiration, the collection draws from the spirit and swagger of high school drill teams and uses a green, blue and white color palette with plenty of varsity-style chenille details.
The modified CMFT — May’s fourth Air Jordan collaboration after Air Jordan 1s in 2017 and 2018 plus an Air Jordan 6 in 2019 — features a high-cut, ultra-thin collar, special satin Swooshes and unique branding on the collar flaps and throat alike. Apparel consists of a varsity jacket, warm-up pants, a hybrid cropped tee layered under a mesh pinnie jersey, basketball shorts and a T-shirt with a familiar image of Michael Jordan himself on the front.
Founded by Lauren Amos, Wish ATL is one of the only female-owned-and-run sneaker shops in the US, and we’ve teamed up with Jordan Brand to finesse an impactful and meaningful early release for the Aleali May x Air Jordan collection.
To commemorate the collaboration, Wish ATL invited members of Mahogany-N-Motion – the dance/drill team of Spelman College, Atlanta’s historically black liberal arts college for women – to shop the collection first, holding a special event at the lower level of their store. Transforming the space into a spa-like experience, we also organized custom nail art for guests, inspired by the collection.
When we were presented with the opportunity to host an early release of the collection, we tapped Spelman College’s dance team Mahogany-N-Motion to highlight for the special experience. Each member of the team has inspired us, and reflects the true inspiration behind the collection and women leading the way for the future.
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