Air Jordan Jordan 1 Low SE Black Pastels

Recipe one: black wide leg trousers with a black tee and a pastel knit over the shoulders, so the shoe and the sweater are the only colour in an otherwise black fit. Recipe two: light grey sweats with a white tee and a pale blue overshirt, letting the pastels on the shoe pick up the shirt. This is a spring and summer shoe for daytime wear rather than long standing, and the low cut suits cropped hems. Fit runs true for most, half up for wide feet. Brush dry first, spot clean pastel panels with mild soap and minimal water, avoid soaking or machine washing, and store cool and dry, since ageing midsole materials break down over time.

The brand behind this shoe now signs athletes across sport, including Jayson Tatum, Zion Williamson, Luka Doncic, Russell Westbrook, Trae Young and Chris Paul in basketball, Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott in the NFL, and Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter in baseball. That roster is a reminder of how far the line travelled from a single signature model. Special edition colourways are where it plays, because they are not tied to a team, a season or a story. A pastel accented Low is aimed squarely at wearers who came to the shape through fashion rather than through basketball, which is now most of the market.

A black base with multiple accent colours means the panel structure is doing real work: each cut piece can take a different pastel, so the toe cap, eyestay, quarter and heel can be read individually rather than as one field. That is only possible because the Air Jordan 1 was built as separate stitched overlays over a foam midsole rather than a moulded upper, with a rubber outsole and the pivot circle at the forefoot. Pastel panels on black are the ones that will show scuffing most, since any mark reads dark against a pale surface. The low collar needs no break in, and the black leather hides everyday wear across the quarter panel.