Jordan 3 Retro

Sometimes nicknamed Katrina as it was first produced to help support survivors of the 2005 hurricane, this stylish Jordan 3 Retro is now known as Hall of Fame because its later rerelease was a celebration of Michael Jordan’s induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. As well as this, the colourway is based on one of the original Air Jordan 3 models, giving it powerful heritage credentials. Its base is formed of sturdy rubber with a myriad of different grip patterns stamped across it to offer the wearer a solid step. Most of the outsole’s edge features blocky tread patterns in Cement Grey, with another piece in this pleasant tone crossing the outsole behind the forefoot. Star-shaped adornments line the toe ahead of a cone-shaped section of Fire Red rubber marked with concentric circle grip lines. A white piece then fills in the back part of the outsole and the medial midfoot, and Fire Red Jordan text has been embossed below the centre of the heel.

Next up is the polyurethane midsole, whose lightweight, durable body houses a pocket of Nike Air that can be viewed through a clear window in the heel. Most of this feature is white, but the upper rear part of it is Fire Red, and a line of white stitching punctuates the toe. More graceful white tones come through on the upper, which is made up of a smooth leather mudguard and a tumbled leather panel that reaches from the forefoot all the way back to the heel. On the way, it forms the lower and upper parts of the eyestay, with Fire Red ringlets accommodating the white laces at the bottom and black pieces of TPU securing them at the top. In between these two bits, the main overlay moves away from the edge of the tongue to show off the white leather underlayer and its many tiny perforations. While these help the foot to breathe, the white semi-circles of TPU rising from it offer further eyelets for the laces to be threaded through.

More perforated sections can be found on the top of the mid-cut collar and the lower half of the tongue. The latter feature’s upper part then switches to white tumbled leather and a Fire Red Jumpman resides boldly in its centre, having been artfully embroidered there. The top edge of the tongue is also Fire Red, which provides a hint as to the colour scheme on its underside. A white patch deviates from this red colouration, with a similar effect achieved on the insole, whose Fire Red surface is adorned with a white Jumpman. The final component of this comfortably soft inner is its padded white walls.

Back on the outer, the exaggerated heel panel has been moulded into a curvaceous cone shape with parallel bands embossed into its upper half so that it can be used as a convenient pull tab. Meanwhile, its lower half displays a distinctive Jumpman logo above the word “Air”, both of which stand out strongly in black against the white background of the heel panel. The shoe’s final stunning feature is the famous elephant-print overlays that accent its heel and toe, whose blend of Cement Grey and black hues provides an eye-catching conclusion to this iconic Air Jordan 3.