Nike continues its rollout of the Cortez in 2023, dressing up the vintage runner in this iconic colourway. Ever since the famous fight sequence in Game of Death where Bruce Lee fought NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, yellow and black sneakers have constantly been linked back to the martial arts legend. This isn’t the first time that Nike has referenced the make-up either, releasing popular basketball silhouettes such as the Kobe 5 and Kyrie 3 that has since been dubbed the “Bruce Lees”. Heading back to the archive, the Swoosh lets its Cortez in on the action with this “Yellow Black” colourway.
The body of the upper arrives mostly in a canvas construction, with suede panels on the vamp, heel and eyestay. A black leather Swoosh leaps onto the sidewall, its thinner profile an indication of its contemporary tooling, avoiding the ‘fat-bellied’ Swoosh from the original OG editions. Once again adopting its updated construction, the heel embroidered branding and tongue patch both opt for the Futura logo rather than the vintage lowercase word script, a detail we’ve seen before on the 2010 retro editions. Underneath, a classic white midsole boasts the traditional mix of dual-density foam, giving a reasonable level of comfort that was revolutionary back in the ‘60s.
While some sneakerheads might consider this part as part of the Bruce Lee library of sneakers, there are no obvious references like scratch marks or blood splatters seen on past examples. Either way, you don’t need to be performing flying kicks to realise how fly these kicks truly are. Find out where you can grab this Nike Cortez “Yellow Black” by tuning into The Sole Supplier!
