The Daily Jordan: Air Jordan 11 Low “Bred” – 1996

It may sound strange but Air Jordan 11 Low is a forgotten shoe. Not the patent leather 11 Low everyone knows, this ornately detailed, mesh vented version with the matte finish overlays, red checkered carbon fiber, red herringbone traction and translucent soles that released in the summer of 1996.

Michael Jordan wore this Black/Dark Grey-True Red colorway during the Bulls’ 1996 second round playoff series against the Knicks, even racking up 44 points in game one and 46 in game three with the shoes.

In addition to the “Bred” colorway, Nike – then in charge of Air Jordan footwear until Jordan Brand was founded in 1997 – released a White/Light Grey-Cobalt edition with elephant print around the vents and blue touches. The 11 Low was locked in the vault until modified versions of both original colorways came back in summer 2003. Like the originals they didn’t sell very well; many took steep discounts at a few big retail chains. Jordan Brand gave the Breds one more go in 2011 and those didn’t sit long enough for the sales racks. A surprisingly successful run.

And now the Cobalts are rumored to return August 1st, 2015, a nice bookend to the patent leather Breds hitting shelves on May 23rd. We still haven’t seen the exact original Bred 11 Low seen here retro just yet but odds are that Jordan Brand has it in the cloud somewhere.

This size 10 OG can be found through eBay seller jcustodio_09, with random sizes of both original colorways occasionally popping up for sale, usually very pre-owned. Find more angles of this gem below, including stills of MJ rocking them, and stay tuned for the next Daily Jordan.