This shoe was again something totally new when it came to design.This unique design was partly inspired by the flag of the Japanese Army & Navy in which the red circle is surrounded by a "sunset". The way the ribbed leather seemed to go all the way to down to the ground due to the match in color with the midsoles, really made people turn their heads. The Air Jordan XII (12) was released in 1996/1997. In the 96/97 season Jordan saw himself being bounced off the MVP throne by Karl Malone, who won the honor with the slimmest margin one can think off. One major disadvantage was that they pretty easily got dirty and was hard to clean. Especially the ones with white midsoles/soles. Air jordan retro 12 XII HistoryThe stitching down the sides resemble sun rays. On the air jordans 12 there was more than just the women’s high heel for inspiration, but also the Japanese Rising Sun flag played a big role in the making. If you look at past Air Jordan sneakers, you will notice the famous “23″ located somewhere on the model. On the Air Jordans Retro 12 Michael wanted a different look with his number 23.The Air Jordan 12 (XII)’s were also one of the most durable AJ’s to date. It seemed almost nothing could break these shoes down. So an idea came to Michael Jordan to have 23 written down the tongue, written like this: Two 3.