Jordan 11 Retro

This Jordan 11 Retro celebrates one of Michael Jordan’s earliest successes – his game-winning performance in the 1982 NCAA Championship. As such, the shoe’s nickname is Win Like 82, and its colour scheme follows that of his triumphant team: the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. It is built upon a clear outsole with a white infusion running through it that reveals the supportive piece of carbon fibre set between it and the midsole. This lightweight plate has been decorated with a grid pattern alternating between University Blue and the darker Midnight Navy, for a captivating aesthetic, while a dark blue Jumpman leaps across its surface. More Midnight Navy tones appear in the toe and heel, where they fill out solid sections of rubber lined with a herringbone tread that aids the grip provided by the wavy lines found on the rest of the outsole.

With such a strong base, the rest of the shoe turns to comfort and style, firstly through the Phylon foam midsole. Inside, it contains a full-length cushion of the Nike Air, which facilitates a soft step, and its white exterior contrasts powerfully with the Midnight Navy mudguard placed above it. This exaggerated, glossy component wraps around the entire shoe before the rest of the upper returns to the same pristine white tone as the midsole. A ballistic mesh stretches across the top of the foot and the tongue, allowing both breathability and flexibility, and the heel panel is made of high-quality white leather.

A broad line of Midnight Navy material reaches from one side of the tongue to the other, cutting right through its centre. Upon it is a University Blue Jumpman flanked by the words “Jumpman” and “Jordan” in white. Rope-like laces in the same light hue thread through looped fabric eyelets which themselves lie at the end of white strips of material that form a webbed structure on the upper. Midnight Navy then coats the shoe’s inner, covering everything except for the University Blue Jumpman logo on the insole. The back of the tongue exhibits more deep blue tones to counterbalance the lighter University Blue, which recurs on another Jumpman silhouette embroidered into the lateral heel. This sits beside the Midnight Blue heel tab, which itself is formed of the material that spills out from the inner lining. The number 23 has been proudly stamped onto this tab in white, aptly rounding off this commemorative AJ11 sneaker.