Jordan 11 Retro Low

The suave look of this Jordan 11 Retro Low captures the essence of the iconic sneaker. Its colour scheme has been taken from the Birmingham Barons – the Minor League Baseball team Michael Jordan played for during his short hiatus from basketball in the early-90s that preceded the release of the first AJ11. Thanks to this, the shoe has been nicknamed Barons, while its outer is a classy combination of black and white. This classic pairing can be seen on the outsole, whose translucent portion is imbued with a white tinge and whose opaque herringbone grip pods are black. The blend of these two different parts gives the sneaker excellent traction, while the black and grey carbon fibre plate visible through the translucent rubber of the outsole adds strength and durability underfoot, a black Jumpman in its centre completing the aesthetic.

Layered on top of this sturdy base is a white midsole made of soft Phylon foam and filled with bouncy Air cushioning. With this bringing the model excellent levels of comfort, the upper adds a sleek style, firstly through the AJ11’s trademark patent leather mudguard. Its lustrous surface is decorated here in a cloudy mixture of black and silvery grey tones that seem to shimmer in the light. Meanwhile, the quarter panel comes in plush black nubuck, with textile bands in the same tone forming the webbed lacing structure over it. Each one of these ten strips of fabric finishes in a looped eyelet, with five each side of the black nubuck tongue securing the rope-style laces in place. These are also black, as is the shoe’s inner, which provides the perfect tonal contrast against the bright white Jumpman logo printed onto the insole.

Back on the outer, additional white accents can be found. One is on the heel, whose black leather surface presents an embroidered Jumpman in its centre. Just above this is a second white highlight – Jordan’s jersey number of 23 pressed into the heel tab. The piece of black material stretching across the middle of the tongue contains the last contrastive element as white Jordan and Jumpman text has been written on it either side of a miniature Jumpman logo in culmination of this sophisticated sneaker.