The prestige that Mona Lisa has in the art world is the same that this model has with everyone who knows and appreciates the aesthetics, history, and even the mystique of great sneakers.
Air Jordan 11 is without a doubt one of the greatest sneakers of all time for most sneakerheads!
Although this legendary pair first appeared back in 1995, their story actually started earlier with a fairly simple idea. As MJ was very active in the process of creating his sneakers, he told his designer Tinker Hatfield that he wanted a “shiny” high-performance sneaker that can also be worn off the court – even with a tuxedo! For those who don’t know, Tinker is responsible for the appearance of the majority of Jordan’s most famous models, so when he says that the 11s are his favorite, then it’s clear how special they are. Here is a great documentary about Hatfield so you can find out more:
This whole story actually started in 1993 when Jordan was shown the first blueprints and ideas for the AJ 11. In addition to various sketches, Tinker and his team had a whole range of suggested materials which actually ended up being an important factor in the shoes’ popularity, especially since the patent leather represented something unique and revolutionary. So the whole team was very excited about the sneaker, but the most important thing was what Michael would say. Well, he was so pleased that he decided to wear the sneaker long before it was planned – it was the first game of the Eastern Conference semifinals against Orlando played on May 7, 1995. In addition to causing “panic” at Nike since the company was not ready to release the 11s, MJ also made the NBA “angry” as it required the Bulls to wear dark-colored shoes in the playoffs, and his Concord colorway was more white than black. That’s why after the first two games Jordan surprised everyone when he wore Penny Hardaway’s Nike Air Flight One for Game 3, and in the next game Nike managed to prepare a black colorway that later had a successful movie career – of course, it was the “Space Jam “model. Although the Bulls lost the series against the Magic, something notable happened after the loss in game one, as MJ gave up on wearing number 45 on his jersey and switched back to 23.
Another amazing piece of information about Michael’s strong feelings about the 11s is that he wore only the Concord colorway throughout the next regular season (1995-96)! The AJ 11s cult status was further expanded because during that season Jordan led the Bulls to a 72-10 regular-season record and then to victory in the Finals against the Supersonics. In addition to team success, Jordan has made it clear that he has returned to the throne by winning regular season, All-Star Game, and the NBA Finals MVP trophies!Our humble contribution to this legend is the passion with which we will always offer you the latest available colorways, so be sure to follow us closely for all the news about the releases ahead! While we wait for the arrival of these hot new models, we will just remind you which major colorways have been available so far:
– Concord (1995.)– White / Columbia Blue (1996)– Low black IE model (1996)– Low white IE model (1996)– BRED (1996)– Space Jam (2000)– Cool Gray (2001)– Low White / Varsity Red (2001)– Low Columbia Blue (2001)
As the popularity of the 11s keeps growing every year, there are many great re-releases, but also amazing models with new and never-before-used color combinations. Just keep in mind that whenever they appear, they won’t be sitting on our shelves for too long ;D