• Newsday/AP, CNBC, Complex.com, Friday, January 9, 2009 11:45 AM

Michael Jordan and designer Jason Mayden unveiled theAir Jordan 2009 yesterday -- an athletic shoe that was three years in the making and claims automobile technology, the sport of fencing and art as part of its heritage. A "zone air bag," for example, acts as a cushion in the toe box. And each shoe has a unique swirl pattern at the base of the midsole. A limited-release model, available on Jan. 31, costs $230 a pair; the regular retail price will be $190.

Bradley Carbone interviews the shoe's designer, Jason Mayden, on Marc Echo's Complex.com Web site.

Mayden, who started at Jordan as an intern designing laces, explicates the elements of the shoe in excruciating detail. For example, the shoe pays homage to the idea of defense -- one of MJ's many strengths on the court -- by incorporating satin pleats, which is an idea borrowed from fencing.

"When you look at the sport of fencing and the way that those athletes use footwork and use certain tactics and strategies," Mayden says, "it's similar to the way basketball players have to understand where their opponent is in space."

CNBC Sports Biz blogger Darrell Rovell transcribes Michael Jordan's press conference answers here. When asked where the Air Jordan brand will be 23 years down the line, Jordan hurls a brand marketing three-pointer.

"When you try to win, you don't try to pick who you have to beat," he says. "Obviously Nike is our parent company and you want to be very respectful to your parents. I expect this brand to compete with Nike on a global standpoint somewhere down the road. Obviously being that they are our parent, the son has to listen to what the parent may say controlling some of the space, but ... I expect us to be as strong as Nike somewhere down the road."

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