Release date: November 1996 Head Designer: Tinker Hatfield The Air Jordan 12 was released in 1996-97 and were the first Air Jordan shoes in the Jordan Brand line.The Air Jordan 12 featured something very unique in terms of design. The Air Jordan 12 upper was stitched to resemble the Japanese Rising Sun flag. The Air Jordan 12 also was the most durable shoes out of the whole Jordan shoe series. In addition to this, the Air Jordan 12 provides the most ankle support which was great for keeping Jordan on the floor for the whole season. Jordan Brand is Born In September, 1997, Nike decided to launching a new sub-brand of Nike called Air Jordan Brand. The Air Jordan 12 was the first Jordan shoes to be part of the Jordan Brand collection and also did not have the Nike logo anywhere on the shoe - not even the insole. The shoes did come in a Nike box, but these were the last.