Kicks: Black Cement Friday

Words by Lemara Lindsay-Prince | @lemelp

The day after Thanksgiving in America is sheer pandemonium as Black Friday kicks of the Christmas spending spree with retailers enticing shoppers with huge promotions.

Jordan Brand aim to capture the spirit of the day with the re-release of a brand classic, the Air Jordan III Black Cement (affiliate link).

Over the past few years this much loved silhouette by sneaker enthusiasts has been released in the True Blue colourway back in 2009 and earlier on this year with the White Cement’s. The Black Cement’s though are a definite favourite and have been brought back a total of three times due to their high demand and admiration.

Originally released in 1988 the Air Jordan III was the first sneaker in the brand’s line to feature a visible air unit. Designed by a true leader in innovation – Tinker Hatfield, this shoe marks the beginning of a great friendship inside and outside of Nike World Headquarters between Tinker and MJ. It sets the foundation for the future of signature shoes in the Jordan Brand line.

Tinker worked very closely with Jordan to make sure the shoe not only performed well but from an aesthetics point of view looked great too. The Air Jordan III Black Cement dons the iconic elephant print, the Jumpman logo and also a black leather upper to give it a more luxurious feel.

Remembered as the shoe that Jordan wore in the 1988 All Star Competition. The Air Jordan III has captured more memorable moments in Jordan’s career such as winning the All Star Dunk title, league M.V.P and Defensive Player of the year. The Air Jordan III was undoubtedly an instant street hit! Backed by an incredible advertising campaign where the world was introduced to future popular culture icon, Mars Blackmon.

The Air Jordan III set the tone and made sure everyone was saying, “It’s Gotta Be The Shoes!”

Fans of the Air Jordan III Black Cement who have the originals in their collection or even the last retro from 2008 will notice some subtle differences in this year’s version to mark the development in shoe production over time.

While most of the outside remains untouched, the most obvious change happens inside the shoe on the insole which has a Jumpman logo printed on as opposed to the numerals of XXIII that we saw in the Countdown Pack.

Another major difference is the packaging which features the iconic elephant print on the box. The 2011 version has a tumbled leather upper, cement grey colouring on the tongue, inner liner and mid eye-stay and white outsole. Varsity red makes the Jumpman logo pop on the tongue and this also features on the tongue padding and bottom eyelets.

The Air Jordan III Black Cement drops today (25.11.11) and is available in the UK from online store Crooked Tongues (affiliate link) and the Foot Patrol store in London priced at £105

Some images from Nicekicks.com