Jordan - Air Jordan XI Retro
If you've been dwelling in a cave, here's a little background. Firstly,
the eleventh Jordan chapter was one of the most accessible for us
Euro-heads since part eight, and arguably the last great chapter in the
whole MJ signature shoe dynasty. Other than giving R. Kelly a number one
with a song beloved of fat people in TV talent shows, the 1996 movie
'Space Jam' sees Jordan rocking a black pair of XIs with a white sole
unit and what seemed to be touches of purple. They were just for Mike so
we never got them, which was a damned shame, as the all black upper
appealed to our conservative, limey tastes a bit more than the Concord
version with their dual-tones, and that ice sole was a tad flyer than
the black/reds. That patent always was a shock to the system though. In
late 2000 (though we were sure it was New Year 2001) Mike's cinematic
numbers were finally released. They shifted.
Consider that Asian heads are XI obsessed, Americans are sick with it
too, plus there's a sizable audience on these shores - if you blinked,
you missed and had to bite the eBay bullet. 2001 brought in some great
women's low versions, plus the mighty Cool Grey version of the Hi. But
Space Jams were kind of like a big deal. After a wait, plenty of
e-speculation and a distinct lack of doublepack, they drop later this
month. We're impressed. This is a shoe that never dates anyway. The
world hasn't quite caught up with the XI, like the Air Max 95 and
Footscape, all from 1995; that right there is a trinity of serious
design innovation that put Nike at the next level, creating generations
of new disciples.
Shape-wise, these look and fit like last year's black/reds. There's
minor differences in that shape, but they don't diminish the appeal -
where we once went half a size up, they fit true. Goodbye white outsole
Jumpman, hello blue Jumpman, and 'JUMPMAN JAM' has become 'JUMPMAN
JORDAN' on the tongue label. That alone should stop anyone who shelled
out big on that pair at Flight Club from exploding with fury and
spilling that bottle of Sea Glow. The packaging is surprisingly plush
too - plastic inserts and a slide-out box with added fussiness at least
let you feel like you've grabbed something of significance. Sadly they
don't make 'em like this anymore, and this is a masterpiece of a design.
Free Jordan Brand 'Future Sole' tee whilst stocks last!
