Then-17-year-old LL Cool J rocking a pair of black and red Jordan 1s on the inner sleeve of Radio, arms crossed in a b-boy stance, was just the beginning. And Jordan's rise coincided with the sneaker itself going from subculture signifier to mainstream status symbol. Like Rakim said in '87, constant elevation causes expansion. And while they were marketed as the best basketball shoes in existence, hardly any other players, save a Sam Vincent here or a Kevin Johnson there, wore them on NBA courts.īut people sure wore them everywhere else. The "23" he had embroidered on the outer heels of his Jordan 5s the following season was the exception, not the rule. Outside of some one-offs he wore as a rookie as Nike figured out exactly what "Air Jordan" was going to be, Jordan wore the same colorways you could find in stores, with nary a personal addition. It might seem strange now to a generation used to superstars wearing special makeups on a seemingly daily basis, but in the late '80s, Air Jordans themselves were Michael Jordan's player exclusives. And like the Jordan 3, the 4 launched first in "White/Cement" and "Black/Cement," with ensuing late-season follow-ups in "White/Black/Red" and "White/Blue." The “White/Black/Red” colorway in particular was a through line to the most commonly seen on-court colorway of the Air Jordan 1, a white-based, Bulls-themed shoe that Jordan wouldn't get fined for wearing. The rollout was more or less "if it ain't broke don't fix it," debuting at All-Star weekend (although no Dunk Contest second colorway reveal this time) with a new Wieden & Kennedy black-and-white Mars Blackmon commercial. "Michael's first, 'Whoa.' Second he's gonna go out and freakin' kick some ass." "It was meant to be a little more utilitarian," Hatfield says of the first two Air Jordans he designed. The basic shape and structure didn't change much from the revolutionary 3-a ⅝ cut with visible Air in the heel and a large plastic heel counter-but the 4 was considerably lighter, replacing exotic skins with synthetic leather and a new mesh that Nike hadn't used before. For the following season, he designed the Air Jordan 4 for the reigning MVP and Defensive Player of the Year as something more akin to a weapon of war. Tinker Hatfield took over the Air Jordan program in 1987 and designed the Air Jordan 3 like something approaching art. It was less of a big deal for the man who designed them. For those of us who obsessively watched Jordan’s feet to see what was coming, this was a big deal. He scored 21 points and added 16 assists in a one-point Bulls win.
He debuted the Air Jordan 4 on All-Star weekend in February of 1989 in Houston, Texas, and broke out the Fire Red pair a little over a month later on March 21 in Inglewood against the Lakers.
#Fire red4 full#
For a full rundown on the Jordan 4 silhouette, check out our Air Jordan 4 Buyers Guide and our Air Jordan 4 Release Date page for the latest upcoming releases.The "Fire Red" Air Jordan 4 was the final colorway of the Air Jordan 4 to release at retail, but one of the first Michael Jordan wore on court. Check out our Jordan release calendar, and keep it locked to our Twitter and Mobile App to stay up to date on future releases. Coming in full-family sizing, men's pairs will retail for $210. It will drop at Nike, via the SNKRS app, and at select Jordan Brand retailers worldwide, both in-store and online. The Air Jordan 4 Retro Red Cement is set to release on August 12th, 2023. For a full rundown on the Jordan 4 silhouette, check out our Air Jordan 4 Buyers Guide and our Air Jordan 4 Release Date page for the latest upcoming releases.
Instead, "Jumpman" branding is present, which is also see on the tongue tag and insoles. It features a white-based leather upper with fire red and black accents, complemented by small hits of grey. A part of Jordan Brand's Fall 2023 Retro Footwear lineup, the Air Jordan 4 Retro "Red Cement" comes in a clean white, fire red, black, and neutral grey colorway. Ready to add to that list is the all-new Air Jordan 4 Retro "Red Cement"įollowing in the footsteps of the aforementioned "Midnight Navy" pair released in 2022, this pair reimagines the classic AJ 4 "Cement," but with fire red accents replacing the traditional grey. While OG colorways always reign supreme, newer colorways such as the "Military Black" and "Midnight Navy" pairs have become instant classics.
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