Jordan 6 Retro

This colourful Jordan 6 Retro has a vibrant colour scheme based on the American sports drinks brand Gatorade, who worked with Michael Jordan on a 1991 TV advert that came to be known as Be Like Mike for the upbeat song and inspiring message that accompanied the commercial. The shoe starts with an outsole made up of opaque Summit White areas on the heel and through the centre of the foot and semi-translucents parts on each side of the forefoot. Another of these partially see-through bits spans the heel from medial to lateral side, its edges pointed and uneven like the forefoot pieces. A green Jumpman logo has been embossed below the arch of the foot, while a series of circular grip formations mark the toe and heel, bringing high levels of traction underfoot. The polyurethane midsole exhibits the same pairing of Summit White and semi-translucent pieces, the former covering the bulk of its length, the latter showing up on the lower parts of the forefoot and heel. Visible Air cushioning can be seen within the heel, and another pocket of the bouncy padding is concealed in the forefoot, providing the wearer with supreme comfort. Bands of black polyurethane then fill out the rest of the midsole as they have been layered up over the top of the translucent panels on its flanks.

Atop this sturdy base rests an upper whose dynamically contrasting colour-blocking is reminiscent of the original AJ6 colourways. While the Summit White heel panel and angular sidewall overlay are both made of premium leather, the Team Orange underlayer stretching from midfoot to toe is formed of smooth nubuck for a fine-looking shoe. Perforations then appear in various different locations, bringing ventilation across the entire foot. There are clusters of them on the orange parts of the sidewalls and the white material on the lower half of the tongue, with larger ones pressed into the protective pads that bulge out over each ankle. More regular-sized holes have been placed on either side of each ankle pad, and three diagonal ridges have been embossed between them and the front of the collar.

On the back of the shoe, a black moulded tab loops out of the heel, curving above the topline of the collar to create a useful hook to pull when putting it on. A thick line of Team Orange has been embossed through its centre, and a small patch of black fabric punctuates the collar below it. This connects to the inner lining, which is made of the same dusky material and coats the entire interior of the sneaker, offering soft comfort around the foot. Amongst this, a splash of colour can be found on the insole, which hosts the Gatorade lightning bolt logo in the thrilling tone of Team Orange.

Returning to the outer, more distinctive branding appears over the top of the foot, where the silky Team Orange lace covering shows off its embroidered Jumpman emblem in a lush green hue. The plastic toggle that secures the white laces at the top then reverses this colour arrangement by having its main body in green and a Team Orange Jumpman printed onto its centre. A large black tongue sticks up behind this, two windows cut into its face and Air Jordan text embossed along its upper edge. The back of the tongue has been decorated with a unique piece of text that references the Gatorade advert once again as it says “If I could be” in a capitalised Team Orange font – the beginning of a line from the commercial’s jingle which is completed with the words “like Mike”. Finally, this memorable Air Jordan 6 design is rounded out with delicate white embroidery forming a subtle Jumpman and Air lettering in the centre of the heel.