Designed by Peter Moore and released on 9 May 2020 as part of the Air Jordan 1 line. This release has a leather upper in Black/White/Game Royal/Black. Royal Toe takes one of the oldest blues in the line and moves it onto the toe cap, which is a small change with a big effect on a shape this familiar. This is the Retro High in grade school sizing, so it carries the full original pattern: tall padded collar, the Wings logo that marks the earliest era, and the panel layout that reached the public on 1 April 1985. Younger wearers get the same architecture the collectors argue about, at a smaller scale. Royal blue against black is a colour split the shoe wore before it had a logo of its own, and it has never needed updating.
Two recipes. Sport: black track pants with a royal blue crew, the toe colour repeated up top so the shoe looks planned. Or plain: dark jeans with a white tee and a black jacket, where the blue toe is the only detail in the outfit. Highs need a hem well clear of the collar, so cuff or size the trousers shorter. Grade school sizing runs close to true, and width is the measurement to check. Clean the blue and black panels separately, brush before wiping, and let the collar dry fully between wears so the padding does not stay damp.
Jordan Brand's reach outgrew the sport it was named for. It sponsored its first association football club, Paris Saint-Germain, in 2018, putting the Jumpman on kit in a game Michael Jordan never played, and the collaboration turned into one of the most visible pieces of sportswear crossover of its era. Royal blue reads differently after that: less a basketball colour, more a general sporting one. A young wearer picking up a Royal Toe High is buying into a house that now speaks football, baseball and basketball at once, which is a very different proposition to the single signature shoe of 1985.
Black leather with royal blue placed on the toe, Swoosh and heel, on the high cut pattern with its padded collar and stitched rubber cupsole. Highs take longer to break in than Lows because the collar has to soften around the ankle before the shoe stops announcing itself with every step, and grade school builds are no different. Black and blue is a durable pairing, hiding scuffs and street dirt far better than any white based colourway, which makes this one of the more sensible high tops for daily wear rather than for a shelf. Lace fully to lock the heel properly.
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