Jordan 3 Retro SP x Fragment Design

Conceived in collaboration with visionary creative Hiroshi Fujiwara and his forward-thinking fashion project, this Jordan 3 Retro SP x Fragment Design features a stripped back construction that is as sleek as it is elegant. Its black and white outsole sets the tone for this look, the former color appearing on the cone-shaped section below the forefoot, with its concentric circle grip lines, and the smooth piece under the rear of the foot and its medial edge. The rest of this grippy component comes in white, including the broad edges, which have various blocky tread patterns, the toe, with its star-shaped adornments, and the capitalized Nike lettering embossed beneath the heel.

Above this, within the midsole, a pocket of Air cushioning has been placed to bring excellent levels of comfort alongside the traction supplied by the outsole. This bouncy underfoot padding is visible through a window in the heel of the all-white polyurethane midsole, whose toe is capped with textured white rubber and has a strip of stitching along its top edge. A unique design detail appears above the lateral window, where a line of black alphanumeric text incorporating product and tooling codes associated with the shoe has been printed alongside the words “Fragment Design”, the fine lettering recalling that seen on other collaborative sneakers crafted by Fujiwara.

In a continuation of the two-tone color scheme established by the supportive sole unit, the premium leather upper exhibits black and white hues throughout. Its mudguard and the additional overlays on the toe and heel all come in smooth black leather, while the overlay that covers the top part of the sneaker is formed of white tumbled leather, for a captivating layered look. As with other AJ3 designs, this last panel, which reaches from the forefoot to the heel, recedes somewhat from the topline of the collar and the upper part of the eyestay to reveal an underlayer made of more white leather. This one is filled with miniscule perforations that supply cooling comfort around the foot, with the same material forming the lower portion of the tongue to provide ventilation there as well.

White TPU half circles have been set into the perforated section of the eyestay, each one offering an eyelet for the white laces to pass through. Lower down, the main overlay cuts back in towards the tongue and has a collection of white metal ringlets to accommodate the laces at the bottom. Meanwhile, the front of the collar contains a final pair of eyelets on each side, once again in white TPU, thus firmly securing the laces all the way to the top.

Elsewhere, the shoe’s interior adds another tone to the design, as its insole is coated in a dark blue gray fabric which provides a soft base for the foot to stand upon. This alternative coloration allows it to show off branding from both collaborators, firstly in the form of Fragment Design’s dynamic lightning bolt logo, which appears twice, and then with Jordan Brand’s Jumpman, all emblems distinguishing themselves in black from the slightly lighter surface they are printed on. The rest of the inner is padded out with a plush white fabric that extends to the back of the tongue as well. Here, there is a black patch with white Fragment text sewn through it, the letters oriented upside down so that they can be read properly when the tongue is flipped over.

Back on the outer, the heel panel brings together a pair of logos in an inventive piece of dual-branding that can only be achieved because of the translucent material used to make it. The surface of the tab is embossed with a clear Jumpman, while its see-through properties allow Fragment Design’s logo to be presented in black on the leather behind it, thus representing the outstanding synergy between the two brands. Above this, the upper part of the heel panel is embossed with thick ridges that make it an effective pull tab as well.

Two more refined branding details then complete this Air Jordan 3 design. One is an expertly embroidered Jumpman, which has been woven into the peak of the tongue in white thread to perfectly match the tone of its leather surface. Lastly, the Fragment Design emblem has been located even more subtly on the lateral side of the heel overlay, where it has been debossed into the black leather to finish off the minimalist look of this collaborative sneaker in style.