Interesting Facts
In Tinker Hatfield's own words, the Air Jordan Retro 11 Low was iterated into the IE version because, "I wasn’t interested in an exact replica of a XI in a low top; I was more interested in doing a low top that was partly the Jordan XI, but fresher…I felt like [patent leather] was contrary to the summer feel…The shoe didn’t need to feel so stiff and heavy. For the summer, I wanted something that was lighter and easier to wear." Although the Air Jordan Retro 11 Low IE model has been around for quite some time, the term IE is not actually well defined by Jordan. To some people in the sneaker community, the term is believed to indicate "Imprinted Elephant." However, there are only so few Air Jordan Retro 11 Low IE models with elephant imprints on the shoe. Some people even thought it was Latin for "id est," commonly used to provide an example at the end of a sentence in the English language. The most clear indication is from a tweet by @nikestore (now @nike) in 2011 that claimed IE signified "International Exclusive." Although this was tweeted from the company's Twitter, it does not really make sense since there has not been any regional exclusivity with this sneaker. I suppose the IE in Air Jordan Retro 11 Low IE is up to you to decide what it means. These sneakers are inspired by the sneakers worn by the one and only Michael Jordan in the 1996 film Space Jam. Following the success of the film, there is a sequel currently in production that will star current Lakers player LeBron James. Space Jam 2 is scheduled to come out about 25 years from the orginal movie in 2021.
