An Air Jordan 11 Purple Rain For Prince Sells For $100,000
Published
The unreleased and sample sneakers behind the Nike and Jordan Brand vault are a treasure trove the public won’t access. However, some pairs slip through the cracks and end up in the hands of collectors and sellers, as is the case with an unseen Air Jordan 11 that just emerged online thanks to Simon Voltaire Tan, who goes by depeche23mode on Instagram. Tan showed the world an unreleased Air Jordan 11, which was intended to be gifted to the legendary artist Prince.
Jordan Brand paid homage to the artist's movie and accompanying album Purple Rain, which to this day is one of Prince's most critically and commercially successful works, as the album has been certified 13x platinum by the RIAA. Directly translating the purple color palette from the album cover onto the sneaker, we see a premium velvet suede replace the traditionally patent leather overlay on the upper. In contrast, a smooth suede on the base, tongue, and collar comes in a lighter purple.
Metallic Silver Jumpman logos on the collar and white text on the heel and tongue are the only visible branding details on the upper. Moving inside, we can see a custom Purple Rain-inspired graphic featuring Jumpman text in the same font as the album and rain coming down across the insole. The white Phylon midsole finishes the design with a semi-translucent purple rubber outsole.
Unfortunately, the Air Jordan 11 Retro Purple Rain sample never made it to Prince, as he passed away in 2016 before Jordan Brand could gift him the pair. Check below for a detailed look at the pair, which recently sold for $100,000, and download the Sole Retriever mobile app to stay updated on the latest releases, raffles, news, and more in the sneaker and streetwear world.
Air Jordan 11 Purple Rain
Images via depeche23mode
Sneakerhead from South Florida who turned his passion into a career. Concerts, music, trying new restaurants, and catching the latest movies are some of the things I enjoy when not writing for Sole Retriever. Email: nick@soleretriever.com
