‘I’m a suit guy’: Michael Jordan is the style muse of 2020 (yes, really) because of The Last Dance on Netflix

He’s known for his legendary skills on the court but Michael Jordan is having a moment right now for something else … his personal style.

Suits him! Michael Jordan, his two-piece suit and gold earring (as seen in 1997). Picture: AFP

If you’re suddenly fighting the urge to wear an oversized power suit, baggy shorts or a pair of Jordan 1s, you are definitely not alone.

Known for his legendary skills on the court, Michael Jordan is having a moment right now for something else – his slam dunk personal style.

Wearing a backwards beret, a single gold earring, glossy white trackies and with a camel coat draped over his shoulders, Jordan saunters into the Chicago Bulls’ training facility in a scene from The Last Dance.

It’s one of the GOAT’s go-to outfits – that only he could pull off with the unseen accessory of swagger – in the wildly addictive Netflix docuseries (two new episodes dropped on Monday, after debuting on ESPN in the United States).

Chicago freestyle … Michael Jordan celebrating the Bulls’ NBA Championship in 1993. Picture: Getty Images

Yes, it’s about Jordan’s basketball career – specifically, the Chicago Bulls’ dynasty in the 90s, when the team won six championships. And with it, has come a new appreciation for Jordan the style muse.

Once semi-ridiculed for his dress sense (there was a Tumblr blog dedicated to “What the F*** Is Michael Jordan Wearing?”) that prompted critics including the Wall Street Journal to debate whether Jordan was “the worst-dressed athlete of all time”, MJ’s Last Dance-era styling has actually held up well.

Perhaps it’s because the 90s have returned to fashion’s fickle radar. From chunky dad-style sneakers (hello, Balenciaga) to crushed velvet and tie dye, the 90s are cool again and so are MJ’s outfits.

Since The Last Dance premiered, searches for Jordan 1s are up 23 per cent week-on-week, according to UK-based global fashion search engine Lyst.

Inspired by Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Denis Rodman’s outfits in the doco, shoppers are also searching for basketball shorts (demand is up 12 per cent) and tank tops (a 20 per cent spike), Lyst data released to News Corp exclusively shows.

‘Repeat 3-peat’. Michael Jordan mid-cigar and with a Bud Light beer in the Chicago Bulls’ locker room. Picture: AFP

‘I’M A SUIT GUY’

In The Last Dance, we see Jordan wearing a beret on the Bulls’ tour of Paris, and his 6′ 6″ frame draped in baggy denim and custom-made suits during post-game press conferences. “I’m a suit guy,” Jordan told GQ, “I have anywhere from 100 to 150”.

“What Michael did, he came in and started wearing these beautiful Italian suits but they were modified,” Tinker Hatfield, Nike’s former creative director for product design (who was behind the Air Jordan shoe), told the Chicago Tribune.

“He would modify them not only to fit, but he would also play with the look a little bit and he would take an Armani suit and restructure so it would drape differently.

“He really started coiffing himself so well and he did it in a high-class way that was really appealing to other athletes.”

Michael Jordan in one of his signature suits. Picture: AFP

Space Jam-era MJ, right. Picture: AFP

Sporting a beret in Paris. Picture: Getty Images

Jordan’s signature suiting style was “baggy pants, jackets extra long and extra full”, with Chicago-based tailor Alfonso Burdi behind many of the silhouettes.

The Bulls star would order up to six suits a week that were intended to sit in a “draped” manner on his lithe and lanky frame, the tailor’s son Rino Burdi told GQ.

“Jordan hid his skinny body behind ‘clothing that draped,’ and, at the height of his fame, became even better at hiding, widening his lapels to 1930s gangster proportions and taking impressive chances with colours,” GQ noted in a recent article titled “Michael Jordan Suit God”.

Jordan was basically responsible for transforming the NBA into a kind of catwalk, paving a way for players to make a statement through their personal style.

“It’s really pretty fascinating, but if you were around the NBA 15 years ago those guys dressed very poorly,” Hatfield said, according to the Tribune.

“Now when you go to a game, everybody dresses well and it all comes from the Michael Jordan effect.”

Possibly where Shia LaBeouf got his inspo. Picture: AFP

MJ’s influence, of course, is unmatched when it comes to the $US3.14 billion-plus Air Jordan brand.

In March, The RealReal saw an 85 per cent increase in Air Jordan sales. After the premiere of The Last Dance the California-based luxury consignment store saw a 55 per spike in Jordan-related demand, The RealReal confirmed to News Corp.

The average resale price of Air Jordan sneakers on The RealReal was up 53 per cent in April, the site said. And on The RealReal, rare and limited edition Jordans are now selling for up to $A1300.

MJ right, with then-Bulls coach Phil Jackson. Picture: AFP

Courtside in Bulls team attire. Picture: AFP

Women’s Wear Daily noted that The RealReal “also sold some of its most high-value pairs of Jordan sneakers on the day Last Dance premiered”.

“Jordan is definitely having a moment right now in the resale market,” The RealReal sneaker expert Sean Conway told WWD.

“The Last Dance is putting Jordan in an even bigger spotlight, which we’re seeing translate to increased demand for all Jordan and increased sales of coveted high-value pairs like the Chicago 1 and Travis Scott 1,” Conway said.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen following their win in game No 5 of the NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz in 1997. Picture: AFP

‘IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE’

Fashion was also a source of scandal for Jordan. Reebok, the brand that he famously snubbed during the 1992 Olympics, last week dropped a replica of the Dream Team’s headline-making warm-up jacket.

Jordan, who was sponsored by Nike and his own Air Jordan sneakers on the court, famously covered up the Reebok logo with the American flag as he accepted his Gold Medal for basketball at the Barcelona Games.

The fiercely competitive star didn’t want to endorse Reebok – a direct competitor to Nike.

“Michael decided that he didn’t want to display the Reebok logo that was on his uniform,” former NBA commissioner David Stern said.

“They said they are going to try to hide the Reebok on it,” Jordan explained in The Last Dance.

“But they can’t hide it like I’m going to hide it. They in for a big f**king surprise.”

While the $US80 Reebok zip-up is not an exact recreation of the original jacket (the USA logo is missing, for one), it’s been dubbed a cheeky nod to Jordan.

“We would have preferred the flag on the other shoulder,” sportswear giant Reebok teased on its TikTok account.

The Last Dance airs in Australia on Netflix and via ESPN in the US. New episodes are released every Monday, Australian-time.

Originally published as ‘I’m a suit guy’: Michael Jordan is the style muse of 2020 (yes, really) because of The Last Dance on Netflix