Unreleased Teyana Taylor Air Jordan 3 Sample Surfaces in Red
Jordan Brand displayed an unreleased sample of the Teyana Taylor x Air Jordan 3 at New York City's Dyckman Basketball League over the weekend, offering a stark contrast to the retail "Concrete Rose" iteration. This alternate colorway opts for a bold red and grey palette and strips away the signature vine-like shroud that defined the final release.
By Ava Rodriguez
A Scrapped Direction Emerges
The sneaker world occasionally catches glimpses of silhouettes that never made it past the design phase. Such was the case when Jordan Brand unveiled an alternate sample of the Teyana Taylor x Air Jordan 3 at Dyckman, the storied New York City basketball institution. Positioned alongside Taylor's retail "Concrete Rose" pair and her prior Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 collaboration, this unreleased version tells a story of creative pivot—a design iteration that the brand ultimately decided against.
Design Details
The sample's most striking feature is its chromatic departure from the final retail release. Where the retail "Concrete Rose" leaned into muted earth tones of green and grey, this prototype embraces a saturated red upper that brings the collaboration's floral motif to the foreground. Grey accents provide tonal balance, while a speckled midsole nods to the collection's concrete aesthetic—though the texture reads considerably more restrained than what appeared on the finished product.
The most consequential design difference lies in the silhouette's articulation. The retail Air Jordan 3 features a vine-like shroud element that became central to its visual identity. This sample dispenses with that detail entirely, presenting a cleaner, more architecturally straightforward take on the Air Jordan 3 that prioritizes the shoe's foundational lines over applied ornamentation.
The Collaboration's Evolution
Teyana Taylor's partnership with Jordan Brand has demonstrated a consistent thread across both the Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 and the subsequent Air Jordan 3. The "Concrete Rose" narrative—balancing the delicacy of florals with the raw materiality of urban environments—anchors both releases. What this surfaced sample reveals is that Jordan Brand explored multiple formal languages to express that same conceptual tension. The red-forward iteration prioritizes immediate visual impact and symbolic directness, whereas the released version opts for subtlety and material experimentation.
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Release Info
This sample remains unreleased and represents an abandoned design path. No official release date or retail availability has been announced for this particular colorway. The retail Teyana Taylor x Air Jordan 3 "Concrete Rose" remains the only official version to have reached consumers.
FAQs
Will Jordan Brand release this red Air Jordan 3 sample? There is currently no indication that this alternate sample will receive an official release. It appears to be an internal design exploration that the brand moved away from before finalizing the retail "Concrete Rose" version.
How does this sample differ from the retail "Concrete Rose"? The sample features a prominent red upper instead of green and grey tones, removes the vine-like shroud detail that defines the retail pair, and uses a more subdued speckled midsole texture.
Where was this sample shown? Jordan Brand displayed the unreleased sample at Dyckman Basketball League in New York City alongside the retail "Concrete Rose" Air Jordan 3 and Taylor's Air Jordan 1 Zoom CMFT 2 collaboration.
Release Info
Availability: Unreleased sample (no retail release planned)
Retail Price: N/A
Where to Buy: Not available for purchase
