Last week, the good people at Jordan Brand flew StreetLevel out to Miami along with a select group of national and international media to check out the Air Jordan 2010 live and in person. We'll have plenty more for you on the $170 shoe between now and the February release date. For now, here's another taste. I only found out about the trip the day before, and one of the last things I threw in my carry-on was my trusty Canon AE-1, figuring I could take some cool black and white shots of the M-I-yayo. Instead, well, you'll see below. (Above, designers Tinker Hatfield and Mark Smith discuss the shoe with Complex's Joe LaPuma.)

I briefly considered headlining this post "Air Jordan 2010 BW," before I realized that "BW" also stands for "Big Window." Which, as it turns out, would have been entirely accurate. The "portholes" in the side of the Air Jordan 2010 are made of perforated TPU, which not only "lets you see what we want you to see," but also provides structure and support to the uppers. The reinforcement panels visible along the edge of the toebox and heel are made from the same clear material.

As for the scribble along the edge of the lower half of the midsole, Tinker wrote out Mike's famous "I've failed over and over again, and that is why I succeed" quote, and Smith manipulated it into what you see. The midsole was initially split into two halves to make it look slimmer, and the lower half conceals a full-length Zoom Air bag which may be visible in other releases.

There's some assymmetry involved in the design, most noticeably on the tongue, where one features the usual Jumpman, and the other has a "23" which can also be read as a "25" (also Smith's work). The shoe is officially the Air Jordan 2010, but Hatfield referred to it as the "Air Jordan 25" on all of his sketches. You also get a good look at the toebox, which, despite six rows of stitching across the forefoot, isn't actually anchored across the eyestays. This allows for more flexibility through the foot's natural motion.

The assymmetry continues to the back and sides, where the medial side is clearly higher than the lateral. The goal was to keep the shoe's weight down, but offer enough support that it could be worn by big men and guards alike. Part of the reason that Dwyane Wade was chosen to carry the Air Jordan torch was his versatility -- he's a high-scoring guard from Chicago, yes, but he's also a tremendous rebounder for his size and clearly isn't afraid to make forays into the paint.