crooked tongues magazine News Features

More Air Jordan retros? And so close to the launch of the Air Jordan IV White/Cements? Madness. But we hope this colourway of the Jordan X isn't lost in the stampede like some decent new makeups can be (the Orion Blue's material choices were the nail in the coffin for that VII last year). It's a big, big year for Jordan Brand — the anticipation for the 18th's speckled offerings (available right here that Saturday) is ever-growing and the year's rollout is slowly trickling out in a drip feed of rumour and confirmation. Olympic VIs? Bananas. And Columbias for Christmas? But the latter is over 10 months away, so if you're in the market for blue and patent on a mid 1990's Jordan silhouette, and can't wait that long, this new colourway for the X might sate the appetite a little.

Arriving less than a month after the excellent resurrection of the Chicago colourway, we're not assuming that anybody's going to risk hyperthermia on the streets (and a camp out in the UK right now would leave you like Jack Nicholson at the end of 'The Shining') or shut down our servers when these drop, but we like the makeup — the Old Royal shade of blue and the white is hardly a vast departure from a road already travelled with this model (Orlandos are a lot better) but it's not offensive. We don't know its purpose though — is this a lost City Series shoe or something? Sometimes you've just got to go with the flow and accept the makeup for what it is.

There's retros that miss the mark and there's some that retain the essence of the shoe, and the X is usually one of our favourite Jordan reups in terms of semblance of the original feel. The check lining parallels the alterations made for the Chicago edition's return and these get their own kind of Shining from Jordan Brand with the gleaming leather added as an overlay to split opinion and give them their own controversial identity that lifts a little from their sequel. While the X gets a generic box, the little hangtag is appreciated — we can't help but marvel at the sheer unpredictable variety of JB's packaging options from shoe to shoe. Seeing as though the shoe's been altered, we wouldn't have minded some bonus Scotchlite in the mesh too.

These drop in the store on Saturday for £110 if you're interested and those straps make them come up a little snug. We know a few completists who are keen to get involved, but we're being spoilt this year. If you're keen on a colourway that's coming, we're getting the lot throughout the next year, from the early days to the 2012s that just arrived.