Last night, San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle helped lift his team to victory over the returning Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets. But it was Kittle’s footwear that made the strongest impression of the evening, as the former Hawkeye donned a very exclusive set of one-of-one Air Jordan cleats, custom-designed by the always in-demand Shoe Surgeon.
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The unique cleats were designed to look almost exactly like the retro Union LA x Air Jordan 1 “Black Toe,” the super-hyped collab between Jordan Brand and the iconic Los Angeles menswear boutique. Designed by Union’s Chris Gibbs back in 2018, the acclaimed collaboration is one of the rarest and most beloved Jordan 1 colorways on the resale market, bringing together discreet elements from the original “Chicago” Jordan 1 with touches from a variety of other Jordan models for a distinctive patchwork aesthetic with visible stitching. (A new version of the Union LA x Jordan shoe is expected to drop early next year.)
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For the football-ready spin on the classic, Kittle hired the services of sneaker customizer Dominic Ciambrone, better known as The Shoe Surgeon. Other than the cleated sole, this take sticks fairly close to the original Gibbs design, modifying only the small yellow label on the upper (the tag used to read “Union LA,” but now reads “TSS/LA”), and adding the Shoe Surgeon’s SRGN Studios logo on the tongue. It’s a fun homage—and a hell of a way for Kittle to kick off the NFL season.
