One of Michael Jordan’s most important sneakers is getting a new look next year.
The Air Jordan 11 Retro — which has been a holiday release staple for nearly two decades at this point — is set to debut a new “Black/Red/Gray” look in 2025. The news comes by way of trusted leaker @zsneakerheadz, who added a speculative mock-up of the upcoming style.
Based on the color description, the shoe is expected to be mostly black including on its signature ballistic nylon upper and patent leather mudguard. Red and gray accents fill in branding hits, and the shoe’s translucent rubber outsole takes on a smoky look. Despite the lack of in-hand images at this juncture, the pair sounds like it could resemble previous Air Jordan 11s including the iconic “Bred” (short for “Black/Red”), the “72-10” colorway from 2015 and/or the “Cap and Gown” look released in 2018.
The original “Bred” Air Jordan 11 is one of the shoe’s most memorable iterations. Matching the uniforms of the Chicago Bulls, Jordan wore the colorway during the team’s championship-clenching 1996 playoffs campaign. Since its 1995 retail debut, the sneaker has been re-released in 2001, 2008 (alongside the Air Jordan 12 “Taxi” as part of a Countdown Pack), 2012 and most recently, in 2019. It has also been given low-top and cleat-equipped updates.
A common occurrence nowadays, Air Jordan 11 Retro holiday releases began in ’08 with the aforementioned “Countdown Pack.” That was followed in 2009 with the return of the fan-favorite “Space Jam,” in 2010 by the second-ever release of the “Cool Gray,” and in 2011 with the original “Concord” style.
Since then, the annual holiday releases have been some of the brand’s most anticipated — and some of its most successful as well. During its 2020 third-quarter results, Nike Inc. called 2019’s “Bred” Air Jordan 11 Retro the largest launch in company history.
This year will see the return of the Air Jordan 11 “Columbia” (aka “Legend Blue”), back for the first time since 2014.
As of now, this Air Jordan 11 Retro “Black/Red/Gray” is expected to release during holiday ’25 for a retail price of $230. This story will be updated with any changes.
