Los Angeles has no shortage of great menswear stores, but decades into its run, Union remains in a class of its own. Thanks to owner Chris Gibbs’s discerning and idiosyncratic eye, the landmark boutique pulls off the tricky feat of bridging the gap between the worlds of streetwear and high fashion—you can pull up looking for a Born x Raised tee or Online Ceramics crewneck and leave with wares from designers like Martine Rose and Wales Bonner (and not just the Adidas joints).
Gibbs has his finger on the pulse and is keen to focus on quality over quantity in curating his store’s selection. Case in point: In 2018, after dropping two of the hottest Air Jordan 1s in a year full of hot Air Jordan 1s, most designers would have doubled back and played the hits a few more times. Not Gibbs. Through Union’s partnership with Nike and Jordan Brand he’s worked his way through the Swoosh archives, putting his spin on Cortezes and Jordan 2s among others. This week, however, he’s finally delivering a proper sequel to his greatest hits.
The premise of the Union Air Jordan 1s has always been remixing the classics, combining elements of iconic Jordan 1 colorways without leaning into full-on ‘What The’ territory. TheOG duo from 2018 saw the ankles (collars, tongues and all) of the iconic ‘Bred’ and ‘Neutral Grey’ editions melded into the ‘Storm Blue’ and ‘Black Toe’ colorways, with contrast stitching and detailing beneath the shoe leather’s surface providing a subtle but instantly recognizable creative finish. The 2025 colorway takes the same Frankenstein approach, this time taking the ankle of the ‘Shadow Grey’ Jordan 1 and sticking it on the legendary ‘Chicago’ colorway. Paired with the signature yellow ‘UN/LA’ tag as prior colorways, it’s an instant classic.
