Air Jordan Jordan 1 RETRO High Bred Toe

Red and black is a strong statement, so the outfit should be plain. Black straight leg denim, a white heavyweight tee and a black bomber gives the shoe the whole stage, and it is the combination that has worked for forty years. For a softer version, grey sweatpants with a cuff above the collar and a black hoodie lets the red toe flash without dominating. Size true to your usual Jordan 1 and lace the top eyelet loose if you want ankle movement. Keep the white midsole and toe overlay clean with a sponge, brush the panels dry, and store away from heat so the leather does not stiffen.

The black and red combination is the one that gave the line its founding myth. The league's uniform policy required shoes to be at least 51 percent white, the shoe cited was the Nike Air Ship prototype Jordan wore before the Air Jordan I released, Nike paid a 5,000 dollar per game fine and built the Banned advertising around the situation rather than redesigning anything. That campaign taught the sneaker market that transgression sells, and hip hop carried the palette everywhere else, with 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Ice Cube and Jay-Z all putting Jordan into their records. Bred Toe wears that history in a rearranged form, which is the closest thing to a knowing wink this line offers.

This is the classic High build: layered panels rather than printed graphics, a tall collar with the Wings mark at the ankle, a padded tongue and a flat rubber cupsole that puts you close to the ground. The three way colour split makes panel edges the main visual event, so the quality of the seams is doing the work here. There is no visible air unit in this pattern, that technology entered the line from the Air Jordan II, and the ride is firm and stable rather than soft. Red and black hide scuffs, white does not, so the toe overlay and midsole are where cleaning matters. Condition the panels occasionally to keep the red from dulling.