Air Jordan 1 Dior: recognising counterfeits
The famous French haute couture house Dior has teamed up with Nike's famous Air Jordan model to bring us one of this year's best sneaker releases.
Released this summer, the Air Jordan 1 Dior, or the Air Dior, made a few people happy, but many unhappy, as only 8,500 copies were available. An extremely rare pair of shoes, with an exceptional retail price of €1,700 for the low version and €1,900 for the high version. Unfortunately, you can no longer find them in shops, but only on resale sites (or resell sites for sneaker aficionados). And where there's reselling, there's counterfeiting. Here are a few tips on how to tell the difference between a real and a fake Air Jordan 1 Dior.
Inspect the Nike "Swoosh" logo
You'll find the Nike "Swoosh" logo on the outside of your Air Jordan 1 Dior. On this logo you'll find the famous Dior Oblique motif. On a real Air Dior, this lettering is perfectly legible because it's so clear.
The size and shape of the logo are very important. On a counterfeit Air Dior, the logo is generally placed quite low and therefore very close to the sole. It is also slightly larger than on a genuine pair. Feel free to compare these details with a real pair of Air Dior online.
The logo of an authentic pair of Air Dior
Analyse the shape of the shoe carefully
Next, turn your shoes over to face the back of your Air Dior and check its shape. Viewed from the back, a real pair of Air Dior shoes is shaped like an hourglass. Looking at the outside of the shoe, the Air Jordan 1 Dior has an X shape, the top and bottom form similar slight curves and in the middle these curves 'meet' and form a slight taper. The curves always go towards the inside of the shoe, not towards the outside as many counterfeiters do. Also check the seams at the back of your pair of sneakers. A counterfeit is made with poorly finished and irregular seams.
This trick only works correctly when you are checking an unworn shoe. If the shoe is being worn when you perform the check, your analysis will be biased.
On the left, an authentic Air Dior with the curves facing inwards, on the right a replica with the curves facing outwards.
As you can see, this stage requires a lot of attention and patience, so be subtle. If it doesn't say enough for you, move on to the next one.
Examine the "Air Dior" logo
Now let's move on to the Air Dior logo, a true mark of authenticity. The "Air Dior" logo with the wings is located on the sides for the high version of the Air Jordan 1 Dior and on the back for the low version. It's a very elaborate logo, so it's often poorly reproduced on imitations. It requires a lot of time, undeniable expertise and quality products.
Unlike the fake Jordans, the letters on the "Air Dior" logo are quite thick. This is a very common font defect on counterfeits. In addition to the font, you can also see that the spacing between the letters on the "Air Dior" logo is wider on counterfeits than on genuine Air Dior.
On the left, a real logo, on the right a fake Air Dior logo
Check the inside label
Remember to check the label on the inside flap. This is a classic step in any verification of a product's legitimacy, and one that is always overlooked by counterfeiters. Examine this label in minute detail, watching the font and text spacing. Genuine Air Dior products have fairly thick, highly legible and very precise text, while imitations very often have much thinner text with an irregular font size.
On the left, the label of a real Air Dior, on the right, the label of a fake Air Dior.
Look at the insole
The insole to be analysed is the insole. To reach it, you'll need to remove the first removable insole, also known as the comfort insole. This insole is not removable. On this sole, as on the Nike 'Swoosh' logo (on the comma), you can see the Dior Oblique motif. Pay attention to the font, the size and the thickness of the letters.
On an original pair of Air Dior shoes, the text is thicker, and unlike an imitation, it is engraved deeper into the shoe.
Also check the stitching around the soles. On a fake Air Dior they will be much less precise than on a real Air Dior where they will be perfectly executed, regular and very fine.
On the left, the sole of a real pair of Air Dior shoes, on the right, an imitation.
Look at the tab
Take a close look at the tongue of your Air Dior. It has very precise details, which makes the difference with a replica striking.
First of all, take a close look at the label on this tongue. Unlike a counterfeit, the "Nike Air" logo is written in a large, thin font. The "Air" on an original shoe differs from the "Nike" because it is written with thicker text. Also look at the colours of the label.
Finally, as on the Nike logo, this tongue features a faint Dior Oblique motif in white, on a shade of white. Some counterfeiters leave this label without any motif. Pay close attention to these details.
On the left is an authentic pair of Air Dior, on the right a counterfeit.
Look at the outsoles
One of the outer soles of an authentic Air Jordan 1 Dior is inscribed with "Dior" in capitals, and the second sole features the "Air Dior" wings logo. Take a close look at the font of these two inscriptions, which should be perfectly legible. Look at the colours too. On an authentic Air Dior, the colour dosages give the impression that the soles are transparent. This is a very difficult technique for counterfeiters to reproduce. Thanks to this detail, it's easy to tell whether a shoe is a counterfeit or not. Keep your eyes peeled!
Left: a genuine Air Dior, right: a fake Air Dior
Secure the purchase of your second-hand Air Jordan 1 Dior with Obvy
Getting an authentic pair of Air Jordan 1 Dior at a "reasonable" price, or at least close to the retail price, is almost impossible these days. It's an economy in its own right, and many people have made it their main business: buying and reselling sneakers and other 'hype' products sold in limited quantities at higher prices.
So if you want to get an original pair of Air Dior shoes at a reasonable price, go for the second-hand market. At worst, you'll find them at their original sale price.
However, using the second-hand market doesn't mean you're immune to scams. To find your second-hand pair of Air Dior in complete safety, use Obvy! Thanks to our simple and secure payment system, you can trace the transaction, check the identity of both parties involved and, if you realise, thanks to our tips, that you are in possession of a fake pair of Air Dior, you can return it to the seller.
Finally, if you wish, you can also use Obvy to pay for your second-hand Air Jordan 1 Dior or any other pair of trendy sneakers by paying in instalments. We've also written an article on how to spot counterfeit Dior B23s.