Share This:

First released in 1988, Michael Jordan’s third signature shoe continued to push boundaries and maintain Nike’s streak of innovation within the world of athletic products. With Tinker Hatfield manning the helm on his first Air Jordan release, it was inevitable that something brand new would be brought to the table. After the successful introduction of visible air in his 1987 masterpiece, the Air Max 1, it was decided to begin evolving and integrating the technology into other categories. Debuting on court inside the Air Revolution in 1988 (also designed by Tinker), the same midsole tooling was transferred over into the Air Jordan 3, with more of an emphasis given to the appearance of the radical new upper. In Tinker’s original renderings for the 3, he even refers to his new creation as the ‘Air Jordan Revolution’, a nod to its predecessor.

One design cue that followed through from the 2 was the use of animal print. The Bruce Kilgore-designed, Italian-made sneaker incorporated an iguana textured leather into its mid-panel, in place of the Swoosh seen on the original Air Jordan 1. A luxurious Elephant print made its way onto the 3 to inherit the premium feel of the product line and has been a mainstay feature for almost all of its 28-year existence.

Easily one of the most celebrated original colourways from ’88, the ‘Black Cement’ returns in one of it’s closest-ever retro’s to the original.  This 2018 re-up sees the lauded ‘Nike Air’ branding placed back on the heel firmly where it belongs, a request from the public that has finally been acknowledged by the brand over the course of the last couple of years’ worth of retro releases.

The Air Jordan 3 OG Retro ‘Black Cement’ will be available online and in selected size? stores on Saturday 17th February, priced at £170.

Share This: