News of a Santa-themed Air Jordan 3 scheduled for holiday 2026 first emerged in January and now, a first look at the sneaker has surfaced alongside confirmed release date details.
As expected, the upcoming kids-exclusive Air Jordan 3 Retro style will feature a Christmas-inspired University Red/White/Gym Red colorway which includes details from a classic Air Jordan holiday ad. The shoe uses a red leather upper with darker red nubuck overlays at the toe and heel in place of the Air Jordan 3’s traditional elephant print detailing. White accents fill in both the midsole, tongue, and eyestay while the heel Jumpman Air logo is colored gold.
Unique to this Air Jordan 3 colorway is a synthetic fur liner and a custom graphic insole depicting an Air Jordan 1 sneaker coming down a chimney, a reference to an original 1985 Nike, Inc. holiday advertisement.
While bold in its coloring, the new Santa style isn’t the first time Michael Jordan’s classic Air Jordan 3 has been given a predominantly red makeover. Nike’s 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend collection saw the release of a Chicago-inspired “Unite” colorway which also featured a red leather upper. One of the model’s most coveted styles, the Doernbecher, which was released in 2010 and again in 2013, also used a red-based design.
In other holiday-related Air Jordan news, Nike released Saturday a new Air Jordan 5 Retro Halloween style featuring glow-in-the-dark details. And while this Air Jordan 3 Santa is a grade school exclusive, another holiday-themed Air Jordan 3 dubbed “Not Nice” will be released in adult sizes.
The Air Jordan 3 Retro GS Santa will be released Nov. 21 for a retail price of $155 from nike.com and select Jordan Brand retailers. The upcoming sneaker’s style code is DM0967-601.