Jordan 11 Retro Cherry

The Jordan 11 Retro Cherry runs white ballistic mesh with red patent leather and a white midsole, one of the cleanest colourways the 11 has had in years. Buy it if you want a Jordan 11 that is bold without going all the way to Bred.

The 11 is Tinker Hatfield's 1995 design and still the most engineered shoe Jordan makes. Patent leather wraps the lower upper as a structural element rather than a decorative one, there is a carbon fibre spring plate in the sole for torsional rigidity, full-length Air cushioning and a translucent outsole.

Cherry works because the red is confined to the patent mudguard, so it reads sharp against the white without dominating. It is the 11 people wear to events, which is what the model was always for.

The trade-off worth knowing: patent leather creases permanently at the flex point. That is true of every 11 and is why deadstock pairs command what they do.

One pair, size 4.5. Deadstock, verified in hand in Dallas. Size down half from your usual.