Shoes that Michael Jordan didn’t get to wear during his playing career don’t usually get as much attention with fans, and the Air Jordan XX3 is definitely years removed. It’s not a silhouette that’s consistently at the fore, compared to the 1s to the 14s. Since TITAN 22’s take on it in 2020, it’s hitherto relegated back to the back-burner. But ’23 shall see the return of the 23, subsumed into next year’s “Year of the Rabbit” pack that includes the Air Jordan 1.

Drawing from these images, the pair definitely has a premium construction. Starting from the tongue, the Jumpman logo in a floral stylization is embellished on the exterior while underside bears the thematic “Year of the Rabbit” emblem. The liner adjacent a smooth suede finish. The footbed it presides over, in red, is derivative of the hongbao’s design emblazoned with a golden imprint of the Jumpman framed within a border.

Outside, leather takes up a real estate on the lateral and medial profiles of the shoe leading up to the heel. Decorative stitching beautifies these parts while being lined with golden threads along its border. Similarly, the toe cap carries a collage of its namesake’s signature in its entirety. White leather forms the body of the tongue, finished off by complementary white laces.

Further down, “Light Silver” panels traverses from a part of the toe box through to the midsoles. Underfoot sees Nike’s signature carbon fiber plate in the middle surrounded by a fingerprint-esque pattern on the traction pad. The last of its finer detailings worth mentioning are the golden aglets on the laces. The AJ XXIII will be delivered in a special pack-specific box with a custom tissue design wrapped around it.

The pair has a scheduled release date for 23 January, 2023. When the holiday arrives, expect to find them on SNKRS with a price tag of US$260.

Elsewhere in the Swoosh umbrella, Kevin Durant’s KD 3 “White Gold” makes a return.

YOTR