The Air Jordan XI is easily considered one of the greatest footwear designs ever created and one model Jordan Brand has yet to butcher with laser engravings and weird color combos. Rarely has a customized pair of Air Jordan XI’s been made. I imagine it would be pretty hard to come up with a design that could flow easily on the AJ XI so artist Mike McCoullagh probably felt a bit of a challenge when he was asked to customize a pair by Jordan Brand designer Jason Mayden. Oh and the fact that they were for NBA superstar Chris Paul only added pressure. Jason Mayden gave the shoes as a gift to Chris Paul before leaving Jordan Brand to pursue his Master’s at Stanford Graduate School of Business and after working on Paul’s line of Jordan Brand sneakers that included 4 different styles over the past 4 years. Taking a rare pair of all white Air Jordan XI McCollagh painted the signature patent leather mudguard with a pattern that mimics the liquid look and shape that blood, sweat, and tears are made of. The colors of the pattern are in order of the basketball teams Paul has played on the past 10 years, starting with green and yellow to represent Paul’s West Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Next was a black and gold for his time in college at Wake Forest, followed by a blue and yellow for the NBA’s New Orleans Hornets and a red, white and navy blue for his run with 2008 Olympic gold medal winning Team USA. Smooth and detailed, surely a pair that’ll likely never be worn or two since one was also created for Paul’s brother.
Details via SoleCollector and MegaMayden.com
