Released in 2004 and modeled after the black mamba snake, this is the first Jordan release after his third, and final, retirement. Three special editions were released. They consisted of the East, West, and Olympic edition.The Air Jordan XIX uses innovative materials. The upper was developed in collaboration with Material ConneXion Inc. from a sleeving normally used in architectural applications for protecting PVC pipes from bursting. In theory, this allowed for a lace-less shoe because the sleeving does not stretch, however the XIX1 did include a set of laces behind the sleeve to better secure the shoe. While the sleeve is an interesting design concept, its functionality is questionable.