New Article: Tinker Hatfield's Original Air Jordan XI Sketches

Sneakers like the Air Jordan XI don't just happen. There's a long process to it, one that starts a of 18 months before the shoe appears on shelves, one filled with false starts and fanciful ideas. What emerges from a designer's mind is slowly refined and re-worked until a plausible product is born. On the occasion of the re-retro of one of the most iconic Air Jordans of all-time - the Concord XI - the good people at Jordan gave us an exclusive look at some of Tinker Hatfield's early work on the Air Jordan XI. Recently, Tinker Hatfield shared some of his original Air Jordan XI sketches with Complex. Check out the multiple sketches Tinker created on the road to the Air Jordan 11′s completion in the gallery below to get a little peek inside the mind of a legend. (SOURCE)



Check the date: August 14, 1994. Not only was Mike retired, but the release of the Air Jordan X was still a couple months away. Still, the basic form of what would become the Air Jordan XI had already taken shape, and with two words - "shiny leather" - everything was about to change.



Same day, different colorway. While the laceless design didn't make it to market (other attempts for a laceless Jordan have been made since then, and have also failed), the carbon spring plate did. It's become a key structure in high-end basketball sneakers ever since.



Progress. Laces. The colorway is recognizable, as is the lacing system - although it wouldn't make it to the finished product. Instead, it became a key component of a shoe worn by one of MJ's teammates.



December 8, 1994. Things start to get more recognizable. And while the sketch itself is rough, it's very cool to see how a designer - even one as accomplished as Tinker Hatfield - questions himself at every turn. This is the process.



More work from December. Every little detail worked out thoroughly. Those lace loops? They didn't "just happen" Note the high cut and the one-piece "tongue", things that changed before the official release.



Inspiration and design. Note the lawnmower in the middle. The lowly garden implement inspired the use of patent leather as a protective element. Designers are always looking for ideas, and sometimes they come from the most unlikely places.



More preliminary work. While the colorway weren't set, the palette was coming together nicely. Many at Nike remained skeptical of wether Mike would even return to basketball, but Tinker kept faith and kept working. But we suspect not even he knew how it would pay off.