An NYC Boutique Announced a First Come, First Serve Release for the Air Jordan 1 ‘Bred’ — Raising Immediate Safety Concerns
In-person releases for the most sought-after sneakers are largely a thing of the past, and for good reason. Police have been forced to shut down releases on a number of occasion because of unruly crowds and public safety concerns, with New York City in particular as a hotbed for the phenomenon.
Knowing this, why would a Queens boutique announce a first come, first serve release for one of the most hyped and limited sneaker releases of the year?
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All the Right, a sneaker boutique based in the neighborhood of Elmhurst, announced on its Instagram account Wednesday that it’ll release the Air Jordan 1 “Bred” Saturday in its store on a first come, first serve basis. The comment section then filled immediately with people raising concerns about safety.
“Do yall wanna be on the news that bad?” the most liked comment reads. “Not a smart move at all. As a Queens native…people deserve better than this.”
Other comments include, “this is gonna end badly,” “Oooof that’s not safe” and “Somebody getting shot.”
All the Right’s caption announcing the release no longer reads “first come, first serve” as it did initially, but it does still point to an 11 a.m. in-store release Saturday. The boutique has made no announcements explicitly clarifying any changes, and Footwear News has reached out for comment. If a response is given, this post will be updated.
One doesn’t need to go back far to see how things could go on for such a release. The New York City Police Department shut down the launch for the Nike Dunk “What the Duck” in October because of concerns about the sizable crowd that had gathered.
Police also arrived to quell the crowd for Corteiz’s Air Max 95 drop in March 2023, although they did not go as far as shutting it down entirely.
Further back, New York City has played host to three of the most infamous sneaker riots of all-time for Arizona Ice Tea’s Adidas sneakers in 2019, Supreme’s Air Foamposite One in 2014 and Jeff Staple’s “Pigeon” Dunk in 2005.
Anticipation for the Air Jordan 1 “Bred” release this month is even higher than either of those sneakers. Jordan Brand took greater pains than ever to recreate the proportions of the original shoe for its 40th anniversary. The marketing efforts have also been quite sizable, including a commercial that aired during the Grammy Awards and acts of censoring ranging from the Michael Jordan statue’s shoes at the Chicago Bulls’ arena to Jalen Hurts’ attire for his arrival in New Orleans for the Super Bowl.
Even with all that noise, all signs point the Air Jordan 1 “Bred” being extremely limited. Rumors have the number of pairs pegged at just 10,000, and what has been confirmed is that just 23 local retailers in the United States will release the shoe. Nike’s Snkrs app, the go-to for all its biggest drops, won’t even host a release.
About the Author:
Ian Servantes is a Senior News Editor for Footwear News specializing in sneaker coverage. He’s previously reported on streetwear and sneakers at Input and Highsnobiety after beginning his career on the pop culture beat. He subscribes to the idea that “ball is life” and doesn’t fuss over his kicks getting dirty.
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