Air Jordan 11 Retro Low 'Bred' (2025) — The Most Versatile Version of Jordan's Most Elevated Silhouette

When Tinker Hatfield designed the Air Jordan 11 for the 1995-96 season, he made a decision that no one in basketball footwear had made before: he used patent leather. The material was associated with formal shoes, with dress occasions, with everything that performance footwear was supposed to not be. Hatfield used it anyway — as a mudguard, wrapping the lower portion of the upper in a material that was simultaneously more protective, more structured, and more visually distinctive than anything else on the market. The AJ11 became the shoe that Michael Jordan wore to win his fourth championship. It became the shoe that set the template for what a basketball sneaker could look like. It became, arguably, the most important Jordan ever made.

The Low variant brings that same construction into a profile that works harder across more daily contexts. The reduced collar height doesn't change what the AJ11 is — the patent leather mudguard is still there, the carbon fiber shank plate is still there, the translucent outsole is still there — it changes when and where you can wear it. The 'Bred' colorway — black base, red accents, clean white midsole — is the AJ11's most loaded color story, and the 2025 Low build delivers it with the same construction standards that have made every significant 'Bred' AJ11 release an event.

Design & Construction

• Full-grain leather upper with patent leather mudguard — the AJ11's defining material combination; the patent leather wraps the lower perimeter of the shoe in a high-gloss finish that provides structural support, lateral stability, and a visual sharpness that no other material in sneaker design replicates
• Black and red colorway execution across the upper — the 'Bred' palette applied with the precision the AJ11 platform demands; the relationship between the dark upper, the accent detailing, and the white midsole creates a contrast ratio that makes the shoe read as deliberate from every angle
• Carbon fiber shank plate — embedded in the midsole for torsional rigidity; a performance engineering detail that Hatfield borrowed from racing and cycling applications, and one that gives the AJ11 a solidity underfoot that contributes directly to its reputation as one of the best-built shoes in the Jordan lineup
• Full-length Air unit in the midsole — the cushioning system that supported Jordan through the 1995-96 season, present in full specification in the 2025 retro build
• Translucent herringbone outsole — the AJ11's most distinctive design element from below; the semi-transparent rubber allows the carbon fiber plate to remain partially visible through the outsole, closing the build with a detail that is functional, structural, and visually intentional all at once
• Woven mesh upper panels — providing breathability and weight reduction in the areas of the upper not covered by the patent leather mudguard, maintaining the AJ11's performance construction logic beneath its luxury material presentation
• Low collar construction — the defining difference between the High and Low variants; reducing the ankle coverage without altering any other element of the build, making the shoe accessible to more styling contexts without making any concession to the construction quality that defines the platform
• Jumpman branding on the tongue and outsole — positioned per the original AJ11 specification, present and correct on a build that earns the mark

Why the Low Changes Everything

The full-height AJ11 is an occasion shoe — a build with so much visual presence that it shapes the outfit around it. The Low is the version that fits into the outfit instead. Same patent leather, same carbon fiber, same translucent outsole, same 'Bred' color story — but a profile that works with tailored trousers, with shorts, with whatever the day requires. For the person who has always wanted the AJ11 'Bred' but found the High too much for everyday rotation, the Low is the answer that Jordan Brand has been building toward for thirty years.

Sizes: Men's 7–13 / Women's 5–10