Inside Toronto’s insanely hyped, weekend-long Jordan pop-up

Inside Toronto’s insanely hyped, weekend-long Jordan pop-up

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Toronto’s temporary Jordan store opened its doors at 6:23 a.m. this morning at 306 Yonge Street (the specific timing is a nod to Michael Jordan’s jersey number). Some sneaker enthusiasts had already been camping out in the cold for 48 hours for the chance to drop a ton of cash on the shop’s limited-edition footwear. One of the main draws, Drake’s $300 OVO Air Jordans, doesn’t even hit shelves until Saturday—but the place is open 24 hours a day, so eager partiers can make a post-bar trip tonight to get a good spot in line. With an elevated DJ booth and simulated basketball court for interactive gaming, it’s basically a dream club for the sneaker-obsessed.

The space is also packed with cool Toronto touches: in addition to T-shirts, badges and snapbacks adorned with tributes to the Six (an image of the CN Tower as the “I” in AIR, for instance), there’s also a mural representing the city and a shoe sculpture from local artist Kwest.

The shop closes on Monday at 6:23 p.m., but after a few more renovations it’ll reopen for good this fall. For Torontonians who’d rather not wait outside for hours in frigid temperatures (even with the free Tim Hortons coffee and Timbits that were handed out this morning), here’s what you’ll be missing.

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

The store brought back a lot of popular older models that aren’t sold anymore, like the metallic XVI “Midnight Navy” sneaker. This entire wall is filled with the brand’s best historic styles.

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Here’s a closer look what’s up for grabs.

(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)

Downstairs is packed with high-tech printers, lasers and scanners that provide a crazy level of footwear customization. There’s also an on-site barber and slow-brew coffee station down here (which is probably more for the staff forced to work the night shift).