Your Guide to Brown Jordans

Though the most popular Jordans tend to be black, red, or white, the shoe company has worked with a lot of colors over the years. Brown Jordans are less common, but when this color does show up, it's always exciting. Brown is a favorite color for designer collaborations, artistic designs, and limited-edition sneakers. Whenever Nike chooses to use this rare color, it creates an unusual shoe design that collectors love.

Discover the Very First Brown Jordans

Though Air Jordans have been around since the 1980s, it was many years before the company released any Jordans in brown. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Jordan stuck to the same traditional colorways. These colorways usually referenced sports teams and were typically colors like red, yellow, black, white, and blue.

In 2001, the Jordan 3 Mocha made history. This was the very first Jordan 3 released in a non-original colorway. The shoes feature a white leather upper with brown elephant print patches on the toe and heel. At the time, they were extremely unpopular and were barely bought. Since then, they have become highly coveted collector's items. Due to their unique place in Air Jordan's history, these unusual brown Jordans are quite popular.

Since then, Jordan has slowly but surely added more brown Jordans to their product lineup. However, brown was usually used for later shoes like the Jordan 34. Air Jordans 1 in brown were nonexistent for decades. This iconic shoe silhouette only got a brown colorway in 2019. The first brown Air Jordan 1s were the Jordan 1 High OG Travis Scott. These brown Jordan 1s had a cream sole, brown suede patches, and a reversed Swoosh.

Which Jordan Colorways Are Brown?

After the first few brown colorways proved popular, Air Jordan started working brown into more of their designs. These brown shoes often have descriptive names instead of simply being called Brown. Common names for Jordan brown colorways include Wheat, Chocolate, Chutney, and Cigar. Here are some of the many exciting brown Jordan colorways you may find on eBay.

• Jordan Future Premium Chocolate: This shoe uses woven strips of deep brown leather to create a bold silhouette. Its high-top design is paired with a gum outsole reminiscent of the Jordan 11.

• Jordan 13 Low Chutney: Light brown embroidered suede pops against black smooth leather. The Chutney Jordan 13s have a low-top design with flat sides and hidden laces.

• Air Jordan 1 Mid SE Tartan Swoosh: These brown Air Jordan 1s have a light and dark brown upper with a white sole. Bright red accents appear on the plaid Swoosh and winged basketball logo.

• Jordan Courtside 23 Desert Gum: A monochromatic color scheme emphasizes the brown color palette of these shoes. They have a pale brown suede upper with a brown gum sole and a clear Air unit.

• Jordan 6 Retro Cigar: This 2014 retro re-release provided a new take on an old classic. They keep the iconic Jordan 6 silhouette but use smooth brown leather for the upper. Accents of red, burgundy, and gold appear on the sole and tongue.

• Jordan Pro Classic Rustic: The Rustic colorway pairs brown with orange and cream. The high-top shoes have suede sides, brown elephant print accents on the heel, and an orange Jumpman logo.

Explore the Many Brown Jordan Collaborations

Since brown is such a rare color for Jordans, many designers use the shade to make designs stand out. For example, brown Jordan 1s only appeared after rapper Travis Scott picked the color for a Jordan collaboration. Many of the other Jordans designed with input from Scott also use brown.

Brown Jordans show up in artist collaborations as well. The Shoe Surgeon x Jordan 1 High FLOM shoe was created by artist Dominic Chambrone. This shoe has printed versions of currency overlaid with brown nubuck patches.

Other examples of brown limited-edition Jordans include designer editions. The 2019 collaboration with streetwear designer Patta produced the Patta x Jordan 7 Shimmer shoe. This design has a dark and light brown leather upper with red accents on the tongue and sole. Another designer collaboration to check out is the CLOT x Air Jordan 14 Retro Terracotta shoe. This has a pale brown suede upper with red logos and terracotta orange soles.

Brown Is a Popular Choice for Unusual Materials

When you look at a selection of Jordans in brown on eBay, you may notice many unique textures. A lot of the brown Air Jordan designs are for special editions made with something besides basic leather. For example, the 2018 brown Air Jordan 1 Retro Utility Pack colorway uses fuzzy brown Sherpa fur.

Another popular option for brown Jordan shoe materials is suede. Some styles, like the Wheat Jordan 6 Retros, use a soft, smooth suede in a pale brown. This material is often meant to mimic the look and feel of classic work boots. Other designs, like the Jordan 1 Mid Baroque Brown, use a dark, chocolatey brown suede color.

Some Jordans also use brown colorways to display premium leather. The Air Jordan 9 Baseball shoe uses thick, pebbled brown leather that looks like a baseball glove. Meanwhile, the Jordan 1 Retro High OG Pinnacle Croc shoe has leather embossed with a crocodile pattern.

Does Jordan Plan on Using Brown in Any Upcoming Releases?

There are only a few Jordan releases that will be using brown in the future. Collectors may want to keep an eye out for some 2022 and 2023 shoes that have a brown colorway.

November of 2022 saw the release of the Zion Williamson x Air Jordan 1 Low OG Voodoo shoe. This collaboration with Zion Williamson has brown and beige suede with green patches and a voodoo skull patch. November 2022 also included the release of a rugged brown colorway. The Jordan 9 Boot NRG Beef and Broccoli shoe pairs green and brown suede with a thick sole that has spiky treads.

In January 2023, Jordan plans to release an Air Jordan 2 women's shoe called Craft. This shoe has a muted brown palette with embossed brown leather and a beige platform sole. Later in March of 2023, the Air Jordan 3 GS Marstone will also feature brown. This colorful shoe will have a white upper with a brown sole and red and orange accents.