The year is 1991, Michael Jordan has finally reached the NBA finals, after many years of failure specifically at the hands of the bad boy Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics.
Michael is one series away from becoming an NBA Champion. After taking 1 loss in Game 1 to the Magic Johnson Showtime Lakers, MJ picked up the pace and sealed the deal in 5 games, ending the series in a 4-1 fashion.
It was at this point in which Michael solidified his position as ‘The King’ of the basketball world, and ascended to become a pop culture icon, all in timely fashion, as this was accomplished in the sleek brand new Air Jordan 6 'Infrared'.
In this edition of CrepTalk, we dive into the iconic history of the Air Jordan 6, one of the most popular retros, and in my humble opinion, the best Air Jordan retro to be released.
Designed by the legend Tinker Hatfield, the Air Jordan 6 was released in 1991 for $125 ($243 in today’s rate). It was originally released in 5 colourways.
· Infrared
· Maroon
· Carmine
· Sport Blue
· White Infrared
The world first saw the Jordan 6 in the stylish Black infrared colourway during the 1991 NBA all-star game, in which he led the East all-stars with 26 point, after that the Bulls then charged to the playoffs.
The overall design of the Jordan 6 was heavily influenced by Michael Jordan’s love of Sports Cars, more specifically his German owned cars, such as the Porsche 911, which was a personal favourite for MJ. Tinker Hatfield was inspired by the vehicles sleek innovative design, definitely a car I’d like to flex in low-key, Tinker went as far to even call the heel tab ‘the spoiler’
The Jordan 6 was also a moment where Michael had more creative influence in the designing process of the shoe, as Michael though it would be best to take away the toe guard on the upper, therefore giving it a sleeker design, as he was wearing a dress shoe which he thought to look cleaner.
The sneaker itself has different upper material according to a specific colourway, for example the maroon, sport blue and white infrared colourway sported a full grain leather upper for durability purposes, whilst the black infrared and carmine colourway was mixed with a synthetic durabuck material in order to add lightweight flexibility and comfort. Perforated panelling was also added for breathability and ventilation. Tinker added that in the previous models, Jordan complained that it was sometimes difficult to put on the shoe, so Tinker added rubber pull on tongue for easy entry and a lace pocket to prevent lace interference when MJ was on the court.
The Air Jordan 6 was the to be the last Jordan to have Nike Air branding, as the years following would only have the Jordan brand logo, this would lead to the future Jordan brand to become its own subsidiary under Nike in 1997.
After the initial release of the Jordan 6 in 1991, the Jordan VI wouldn’t rerelease 9 years later, in 2000, with the first being the most popular black infrared colourway.
Through the years the Air Jordan 6 still maintained its popularity, especially with the help of Kanye West, as during the mid-2000’s and early 2010’s Kanye was routinely seen in the Air Jordan 6 colourway, he is even seen to be sporting them in the ‘Otis’ music video.
Fast forward to 2019 with Travis Scott rocking a brand-new Olive colourway, this was at the height of the Astroworld hype especially after the release of the Travis Scott Jordan 1s. This solidified the Jordan 6 as the one of the prominent retro models in the original 14 releases.
Personally, my all-time favourite is the Jordan 6, especially the black infrared colourway, it’s a very versatile sneaker to wear throughout the year, whether that would winter, autumn, or spring, furthermore, I think it’s a grail that goes underrated in todays sneaker culture with all the hype and on Jordan 1s and Jordan 4s, good for me though means more chances of me copping the pairs I want.
Comment down below which Air Jordan 6 colourway is your favourite
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