The 25th anniversary of “Space Jam” came with a focus more on LeBron James than Michael Jordan, as the younger GOAT candidate starred in 2021’s “Space Jam: New Legacy.” Now that the original film is turning 30, the spotlight is fully back on Jordan and Jordan Brand.
Three Air Jordan 11 releases will headline an expansive collection looking back at Jordan’s on-screen team-up with the Looney Tunes. Steeped most in the past is the latest Air Jordan 11 “Space Jam” retro, one of the most lauded of any Air Jordan and a blockbuster event for collectors every time it returns.
A perpetual debate among sneakerheads is which color is better for the Jumpman that appears on the lateral collar and tongue, as well as the outsole pods. In the movie itself, “Concord” purple was used, but Jordan Brand switched to “Varsity Royal” blue for the first version of the shoe to release to the public in 2000. The latter color carried on for all subsequent releases for the “Space Jams” except in 2016, the one and only time purple was made available to purchase.
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“I look, I watch, I listen to everything,” said Terrance Harvey, Jordan global expert for Streetwear Footwear Product Mangement Icons. “It’s an internal conversation, and we’re able to have that conversation with consumers on which is the true ‘Space Jam.’”
Blue has once again won out, and “Jumpman Jam” text returns to the tongue for the first time since the seminal release. The no. 23 also returns to the heel after no. 45 was used 10 years ago, but this time through stitching rather than the print that was used for every other no. 23 appearance.
Entirely fresh will be colorways inspired by green screens, used in filming to put Jordan in the animated world, and the magic ball the stored the powers stolen from other NBA icons by the Monstars.
The “Green Screen” colorway uses its namesake color tonally throughout the bulk of the sneaker, including a premium nubuck that replaces the usual patent leather mudguard and Tirrenina suede that covers the midsole and lines the interior. A translucent green outsole continues the green-out, which is broken up only by orange outsole pods nodding to Bugs Bunny’s love of carrots and visible when the shoe is turned over.
A graphic insole depicts the film’s triumphant scene of Jordan stretching for a game-winning dunk, and bright green box is loaded with more iconography directly from the flick.
Beyond creating a connection to a production tool from the movie, Jordan’s designers intended for the shoe’s green screen appearance to be functional as they imagine a generation of creators editing whatever they can imagine onto the shoes. If the “Space Jam” 11s are for the old-heads, the “Green Screens” are for the youngins.
Rounding out the trio is the “Magic Ball” treatment, which is technically a women’s-exclusive but will get a size run up the equivalent of a men’s 12.5. A four-way color-shifting upper mimics the visual effect applied to the ball in the movie, and the Jumpman is applied as hardware. Special packaging appears once again with a color-shifting ball on the exterior being touched by the Monstars’ hands.
“Knowing that it’s the 30th anniversary, knowing where the state of the footwear business is right now, we know we have to continue to deliver the best in class around our most coveted product,” Harvey said. “Especially with [the significance] of the Air Jordan 11 in the holiday season. We can’t just release the OG and expect that 15-year-old kid to think that’s cool anymore. So we have to step into creative worlds where they are and bridge those generations.”
Leakers reported last year that the Air Jordan 11 would adopt the Nike Air Foamposite One’s “Galaxy” treatment as part of the assortment, but the idea only got as far as designers cutting out the printed material and applying them atop a pair of “Gammas.” Ultimately, the team decided not to encroach on the source material’s legacy and to create something new instead, proving why consumers should be skeptical of such early leaks.
Internal mockups were also created for a run of 12 different colorways each inspired by a different animated character, as well as an edition modeled after Jordan’s “Secret Sauce” water bottle.
On the ultra-exclusive front, an alternate “Space Jam” treatment featuring laser-printed graphics across the patent leather was produced in a run of 30 pairs exclusively for friends and family of Jordan Brand and Warner Bros.
Graphic-heavy apparel comes is led by hero products in a varsity jacket with patches of the Loony Tunes modeled after sports cards and a glossy long-sleeve Lola Bunny jersey.
The Jordan Brand x “Space Jam” collection will begin release Nov. 5 through Jordan’s website and select third-party retailers.
