Mystery Solved? Air Jordan XI Low "I.E." Name

And I agree with others, these need a proper retro. No elephant on the black pair and a translucent sole, not a smoke sole.
 
blco02 said:
And I agree with others, these need a proper retro. No elephant on the black pair and a translucent sole, not a smoke sole.
Click to expand...
winner winner!
nthat.gif
 
Bumped since we know these are coming back next year. Lots of good info here.
 
MIND BLOWN… THAT'S PROB THE ACTUAL REASON FOR I.E. LOL… THEY DEFINITELY NEVER RETORED THESE PROPERLY THOUGH.. THE BLACK SOLE AND THE GREY CEMENT ON THE BLACK PAIR WAS ALWAYS :smh: …I OWNED THE 2003 PAIR OUT OF NOSTALGIA BUT THEY WERE NEVER DONE RIGHT
 
I agree, nothing like the og. They could have at least done the red carbon. Still my go-to sneaker.
 
I like the 'international exclusive' story you told...I find it real funny how NOBODY knows what IE is supposed to be.

Kinda makes me think of when your electric company misspells your name when you're signing up for service. No matter how many times you try to get that corrected you still see your name misspelled everywhere. Probably just some noob intern at the box label making factory typed 'I.E.' on accident and the name just stuck.  
 
Rumor is the black and red are being retroed again this year. I hope they have the original clear bottom soles
 
The IE was not part of the name in the white OG ones it was part of the colorway. And if I'm not mistaken it stands for "Imprinted Elephant White"
 
ssmf88 said:
The 1996 Air Jordan Low.

In my opinion, one of the most underrated Jordans ever. Back in 1996, I owned the Black/Red color way, and it was the most comfortable Nike basketball shoe I had worn up to that point.

The naming conventions of this shoe ad to the mystery. Some call them the Air Jordan XI Low I.E., but this I.E. was only on the White /Light Gray box.

View media item 595954
Adding even further to the confusion, some people misread the I.E. to be "L.E." and called them the limited editions.

In fact, these weren't even officially called the "Air Jordan XI Low" but just "Air Jordan Low".

Anyway, still to this day you see major sneaker news sites and collectors refer to these as the "Air Jordan XI Low I.E."

I have seen some heads correct people and say only the White/Grey were the I.E., but I think I might have finally cracked this mystery naming convention.



It wasn't in fact the name of the shoe at all but a typo on the adult Air Jordan box labels. The shoes name was just "Air Jordan Low" and the colorway was "I.E. White / Light Grey-Cobalt".

This was found by checking out the label for the original kids size version of the shoe. It is called the "Sky Jordan Low (BP)" and the colors are listed as I.E. White / Light Grey-Cobalt.

View media item 595953
Somehow in the editing of the label information for the adult white / grey, the I.E. got kicked up on the first line with the title of the shoe. This is why it doesn't exist on the Black/Red colorway labels at all.

No idea what "I.E. White" means as far as colors are concerned, but maybe someone can find some other Nike shoe with that color. It might actually refer to the texture of the material because it is textured and not smooth. I can't remember if the Black / Red version have a similar texture or not.

Maybe this has already been found out before, but I have never heard the true story myself and figured I would share my theory with anyone interested!
Click to expand...



I believe it stands for "Imprinted Elephant White"
 
this is something that always boggled my mind,an i did come across a read once.. where it was said tinker didnt even really know the answer to this,but the "imprinted elephant  white" could be right, i always missed out on these back in the day but will be picking them up this time around, i like both colorways, but i notice a  difference in the black ones one with grey elephant print an one all black.much more prefer the black and grey on top pic,and shape.
 
dankenstien88 said:
Yeah they were, I knew I wasnt trippin.


Pics from 1996



View media item 596357
Click to expand...

I swear, everytime I see a pic of the OG's it makes me hopeful of a proper retro. My OG's need to have the sole reglued in certain parts, but I would really love a proper retro. Clear Sole's,Red&Black Carbon Fiber plate and red lining behind the tongue. JB, its not that difficult......
 
'imprinted elephant'? interesting...

not that i don't believe you, but seems like if that's the name, why wouldn't 3's also be called 'imprinted elephant'? Pretty much the exact same material and texture... 
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

therealest1
Jordan XI Low Diffused Blue - August 17, 2024
Replies
7
Views
2K
The_Isomotion31
The_Isomotion31
therealest1
Jordan IV RM
Replies
16
Views
3K
Public Enemy
Public Enemy
therealest1
Jordan 2 Low Cherry Blossom - 2024
Replies
2
Views
808
sneakaprince
sneakaprince
therealest1
Nike SB x Jordan IV Navy - March 2025
Replies
20
Views
1K
Kierris
K
therealest1
Jordan III Quai 54 - Summer 2024
Replies
4
Views
2K
truenike81
truenike81

The ultimate sneaker enthusiast community.

NikeTalk was created as a way of giving back to both the sneaker enthusiast community and to the greater global community of which we are all a part.

NikeTalk is NOT affiliated with Nike Inc. in any way, shape, or form. All opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Nike, Inc.

© 1999-2024 NikeTalk.com

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom