Multicolor sneakers are pairs that split the upper into contrasting colors or materials, and this page covers five pairs from 2020. According to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s release posts, their US retail prices ran from $125 to $220, and all five carry release dates between April and November 2020. Every 2020 release date and retail price below comes from a release post or weekend report written in 2020.
- Lowest retail price: $125 for the women’s Air Jordan 1 Mid “Multicolor”, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit.
- Highest retail price: $220 for the Air Jordan 5 “What The”, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit.
- Most named colorways in one pair: eight earlier Air Jordan 5 colorways, listed in Sneaker Bar Detroit’s report.
- Longest rollout: the Gel Lyte III, from June 27 in Japan to a wider release on August 14, 2020.
What counts as multicolor sneakers?
Multicolor sneakers are pairs where several contrasting colors or materials share the upper, instead of one colorway doing all the work. Someone may like shiny patent leather and another is into suede, and the Air Jordan 1 Mid on this list holds both. Whether a pair belongs in your wardrobe is a matter of taste, so the release dates and retail prices on this page come from release posts.
The five pairs get there in different ways. The Air Jordan 1 Mid mixes four materials, the Gel Lyte III combines corduroy panels with removable stripes, and the New Balance 827 keeps a white base with three accent colors. The “Bio Hack” pairs a Baroque Brown suede build with orange, pink and blue details. The “What The” stitches together parts of at least eight older colorways.
New to collecting? Our guide to starting a sneaker collection covers the basics.
Which pairs made the list, and what did they retail for?
According to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s 2020 release posts and one Nice Kicks report, the five pairs retailed for between $125 and $220 in the US. The table gives each pair’s date, price, style code and sales route as those posts listed them.
| Pair | Release date | Retail price | Style code | Sold through |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Jordan 1 Mid “Multicolor” (women’s) | April 9, 2020 | $125 | CW1140-100 | Select retailers and Nike.com |
| Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance 827 | May 1, 2020 (planned, unconfirmed) | $150 | Not listed | E-mail raffle, as listed |
| Sean Wotherspoon x atmos x ASICS Gel Lyte III | August 14, 2020 (wider release) | $160 | Not listed | Atmos Tokyo, UBIQ, then select retailers |
| Air Jordan 1 High OG “Bio Hack” | September 4, 2020 | $170 | 555088-201 | Select retailers and Nike.com |
| Air Jordan 5 “What The” | November 12, 2020 | $220 | CZ5725-700 | SNKRS, and select retailers as listed |
Two rows carry a caveat. The Gel Lyte III date is its wider release, since the pair first sold in Japan on June 27, 2020. The 827 date is unconfirmed: Sneaker Bar Detroit and Nice Kicks both set it for May 1, 2020, but the release report for that weekend does not list it, so the table marks it as planned.
Market prices move and are shown for reference, not as a promise. These are 2020 retail prices, not resale prices.
The Air Jordan 1 Mid “Multicolor” mixes four materials
The Air Jordan 1 Mid “Multicolor” is a women’s-sizing release that dropped on April 9, 2020 at $125, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s Air Jordan 1 Mid post. Its April 9 to 11 weekend report lists the same date, the same price, the style code CW1140-100 and the colorway name White/Black-Lightbulb-Team Orange.
It combines patent leather, smooth leather, mesh and suede in volt green, white, purple, blue, orange, yellow and black, with exposed stitching. Sneaker Bar Detroit said it looked similar to the Blue the Great x Air Jordan 1 Mid “Fearless”, released in November 2019. According to the Air Jordan 1 Mid post, Nike released official photos of the pair on April 3, 2020.
Our 2020 women’s sneakers post is the related read.
When did the Sean Wotherspoon Gel Lyte III reach the US?
The Sean Wotherspoon x atmos x ASICS Gel Lyte III reached the US on August 7, 2020 through UBIQ, with a wider release on August 14, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s release post. Japan came first: according to the same post, the pair went on sale at Atmos Tokyo’s online store on June 27, 2020 for ¥17,500, about $160.
| Date | Where | Price listed |
|---|---|---|
| June 27, 2020 | Atmos Tokyo online store, Japan | ¥17,500 (about $160) |
| August 7, 2020 | UBIQ, US | $160 |
| August 14, 2020 | Select retailers such as Feature, by raffle | $160 |
The pair has multicolor corduroy panels, the split tongue, red and yellow side stripes that come off, and atmos branding on the left heel. According to Wikipedia’s Gel-Lyte III entry, the model first came out in 1990 and returned as a lifestyle shoe in 2006.
The August 13 to 19 weekend report lists the pair at $160 on August 14. Our Sean Wotherspoon Asics post has more on the collaboration.
The Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance 827 adds three accents to white
The Aimé Leon Dore x New Balance 827 is a white-based runner with blue, red and green accents and a gum rubber outsole, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s 827 post. That post and Nice Kicks’ 827 report both listed a May 1, 2020 release at $150.
It followed the New York label’s 2019 New Balance 990v5 and 997 collaborations, as Sneaker Bar Detroit put it, and was set to sell only through a raffle open to people on Aimé Leon Dore’s e-mail list. Nice Kicks’ 2022 timeline places the 827 pack in 2020 with three colorways but gives no day, so May 1 stays a planned date, not a confirmed one.
The 827 was one of several New Balance hits that year, and our New Balance 2020 post covers the others.
The Air Jordan 1 High OG “Bio Hack” nods to a 2005 Dunk
The Air Jordan 1 High OG “Bio Hack” is a suede colorway that released on September 4, 2020 at $170, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s Bio Hack post. The style code is 555088-201, and the September 3 to 5 weekend report lists the same date and price.
Sneaker Bar Detroit compared it with the 2005 Undefeated x Nike Dunk High. The scheme is Baroque Brown, black, Laser Orange and Racer Pink, with a blue leather toe, a pink liner, orange tongues and a mint green midsole. The same post says it was inspired by Japan’s capital city, and Jordan Brand unveiled it in its Fall 2020 collection on June 29.
It is the tamest of the five, which is a matter of taste. Our Jordan 1 Bio Hack post tells the longer story.
Why does the Air Jordan 5 “What The” borrow from so many colorways?
It borrows from at least eight earlier colorways because Jordan Brand made it to mark the Air Jordan 5’s 30th anniversary in 2020, according to Sneaker Bar Detroit’s release post. Subtracting 30 from 2020 gives a 1990 debut. The post names eight: Tokyo, Shanghai, Raging Bull, Bel-Air, Laser, Green Bean, Army Olive and Quai 54.
“Continuing the celebration of the Air Jordan V’s 30-year anniversary, this “What The” edition of the iconic model mixes a variety of the silhouette’s past non-OG colorways and material plays including the Jordan V “Tokyo,” “Raging Bull,” “Green Bean,” “Army Olive” and “Quai 54,” among others.”
Those are Jordan Brand’s own words, as quoted on September 23, 2020. It is mismatched: yellow on one shoe, red on the other, with embroidered heels, 3M reflective tongues and translucent side netting.
The date slipped from November 7 to November 12, 2020, when Nike confirmed a $220 SNKRS launch, and a 2024 recap lists the same date and price. Our Air Jordan 5 What The post and the history of the What The line cover the rest.
How were these dates and prices checked?
Every release date and retail price came from Sneaker Bar Detroit and Nice Kicks posts and weekend reports published in 2020. A 2022 Nice Kicks timeline and a 2024 Sneaker Bar Detroit recap are cited only as cross-checks, and the Gel Lyte III’s 1990 and 2006 dates come from Wikipedia.
Where a date changed or a source did not confirm it, the article says so, as with the Air Jordan 5 and the 827. The list rests on news reports, because we could not find the brands’ own launch pages for these releases.
Two outlets supplied the 827 date: Sneaker Bar Detroit’s post of March 2, 2020 and Nice Kicks’ report of March 4, 2020 both list May 1 at $150. Prices in this article are retail prices unless a sentence says otherwise.
Which of these pairs did Sneaker Bar Detroit list in men’s sizing?
According to Sneaker Bar Detroit, the Air Jordan 5 “What The” and the “Bio Hack” both came in men’s and grade school sizing. The Air Jordan 1 Mid was a women’s-sizing release. The posts we read do not state the sizing for the Gel Lyte III or the 827.
Why does the table show August 14 for the Gel Lyte III?
June 27 was the Japan release through Atmos Tokyo. August 14 was the wider release at select retailers, so the table uses the date the pair reached more stores.
