Worn by Michael Jordan when he returned to basketball in 1995—and seen a year later in the cult classic “Space Jam”—the Air Jordan XI has become one of the most popular models in the brand known for its signature “Jumpman” logo.
This holiday season, Nike’s Jordan Brand plans to release two new takes on the classic, one paying homage to the original and the other looking to the future.
The Air Jordan XI Jubilee draws inspiration from the original sketches of its predecessor. The 25th anniversary reinterpretation incorporates a metallic silver Jumpman logo and “Jordan” on the eyelets. The heel bears an embroidered silver “23,” Jordan’s most famous jersey number, with a printed “25” on the insoles. On the tongue is a special stitched “Jumpman” and “Jordan” tag.
Twenty-five years after original sketches of Tinker Hatfield’s Air Jordan XI design illuminated his intent to create a laceless shoe, Jordan Brand has incorporated Nike Adapt power lacing technology into the iconic model with the Air Jordan XI Adapt. Wearers can control the Nike Adapt technology—previously used on Nike performance basketball product and Nike sportswear—via Nike’s Adapt App, through which they can customize the color scheme and flashing pattern of the Adapt buttons’ lights.
“Where the Air Jordan XI Jubilee celebrates the rich history of the Air Jordan XI, the Adapt iteration takes the silhouette into Jordan Brand’s future,” Martin Lotti, Jordan Brand vice president and chief design officer, said in a statement. “By folding in the best of Nike technology, we’ve delivered on Tinker’s original vision of the Air Jordan XI, while simultaneously offering wearers the most personalized Jumpman shoes to date.”
Consumers can turn to the SNKRS app to purchase the Air Jordan XI Jubilee, releasing in full family sizing on Dec. 12, and the Air Jordan XI Adapt, which arrives on Dec. 30.
The Jubilee and Adapt models are just the latest new offering from Jordan Brand. In August, Nike rolled out the Air Jordan 3 Retro SE exclusively at Japanese retailers. The shoe, featuring Japanese-made denim along the toe-guard, heel and lace collar with a gray elephant-print overlay, remained otherwise minimally designed, with a white tumbled leather upper and red accents on the eyestays, tongue graphic and collar.
The footwear franchise also offered up a shoe serving the outdoor-loving consumer in the form of the Jordan Spizike 270 Boot, a spinoff of last year’s Michael Jordan-Spike Lee sneaker collaboration.