I love a Jordan 11. The patent leather, the slightly ridiculous shine, the way it manages to look like a basketball shoe and an evening shoe at the same time. It’s an all-time great.
Now Comme des Garçons Homme Plus has become the first brand officially allowed to have a go at it—and, thankfully, nobody has ruined anything.
The shape is left alone. The mesh is swapped for full-grain leather, the midsole is glossed up and Homme Plus branding replaces the usual number at the heel. It comes in all black or all white because this is Comme des Garçons, after all.
The black pair is excellent: shiny, imposing and just gothic enough. The white feels stranger and a little more fashion—almost like a pristine prototype that accidentally escaped onto the shop floor.
At £354, they’re expensive even by Jordan standards. Then again, these were never going to behave like ordinary Jordans.
The Comme des Garçons Homme Plus x Air Jordan 11 launched on 5 September through Dover Street Market and selected Comme des Garçons stores.
Verdict: exactly my sort of nonsense. An already brilliant Jordan, made posher.