Jordan 3 Retro ‘Tinker’

This bright Jordan 3 Retro ‘Tinker’ comes in a White & University Red colorway that recalls an early Air Max 1 design, giving it retro appeal. It rests upon a sturdy outsole of various rubber segments, including a black portion below the forefoot that contains ringed grip formations and a smooth white area below the heel and medial side. University Red Nike lettering has been embossed into the center of the latter, while the rest of the outsole, including the star-encrusted toe cap, is Neutral Grey. Filling out the other part of the sole is a white polyurethane midsole whose lightweight structure houses a visible Air unit in the heel for both comfort and an intriguing aesthetic.

The upper, meanwhile, consists of a number of high-quality materials, from the white tumbled leather of the main overlay to the University Red suede of the mudguard and the overlays in the forefoot and heel. A molded Neutral Grey heel panel has been inserted into this last piece, its upper half lined with parallel embossed ribs to make it easy to hold on to when pulling the shoe on. Its lower part then displays vibrant Nike Air branding in University Red, for a bold look. Inside, the shoe combines three tones, with University Red coating the insole, gray on the plush lining and white on the Nike Air logo printed onto the sockliner. Above this, the back of the tongue is also University Red and has designer Tinker Hatfield’s signature delicately embroidered into it in black, adding a distinctive flourish to this special model.

Back on the outer, the collar is ringed with a Neutral Grey underlayer that has many small ventilation holes pressed into it. The same effect can be seen on the bottom part of the tongue and the upper eyestay, where the white leather of the quarter slopes back a little from the edge of the tongue. Here, white pieces of TPU curve out of the gray leather to provide eyelets that accommodate the white laces, while the lower eyestay uses white ringlets for the same purpose. At the other end, University Red TPU eyelets have been set into the front of the collar to secure the laces all the way up to the top. Between these, the white tumbled leather of the tongue’s peak hosts an eye-catching University Red Jumpman.

Unique to the Tinker model is its sidewall branding, which features an asymmetric arrangement. Firstly, the medial flank has capitalized Nike lettering embroidered a little way below the collar in Neutral Grey thread. Meanwhile, the lateral flank contains a removable swoosh that reflects some of the great designer’s early sketches of the Air Jordan 3. Several different swoosh options are provided with the sneaker, allowing the wearer to personalize their own pair. There is a classic white one, a second in vivid University Red, a third in Neutral Grey and a fourth that has been decorated in the dynamic elephant-print graphic that the AJ3 is so well-known for, thus rounding out this highly desirable shoe with another heritage touch.