Air Jordan 4 Fire Red demonstrates the way to fame of sneakers

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The Fire Red Air Jordan 4 was the last commercially available color that year, but it was indeed one of the first colors to be worn by Michael Jordan on the court. He wore the Air Jordan 4 for the first time at the Houston All-Star Game in February 1989, and then switched to the Fire Red colorway when he played against the Lakers on March 21 a month later. In this game, he scored 21 points and 16 assists, leading the Bulls to a one-point advantage over the Lakers. Many people who watched the game that season will remember this victory, but for those who like sneakers, it is not just Michael’s performance that is noticed, but also the sneakers on his feet. This is the point.

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This pair of sneakers is a surprise for the public and a brand new experience, but for the sneaker designer, this is just the beginning of his acceptance of this series and showing his talents. Tinker Hatfield started to participate in the Air Jordan project in 1987. The first pair of sneakers he designed was the artistic Air Jordan 3 that shocked the sneaker circle later. In the second year, in order to welcome the new season, he began to conceive Air Jordan 4, a pair of brand new weapons for the MVP and Defensive Player of the Year. The basic design and structure of the sneakers have not changed much compared to the revolutionary 3rd generation. It is still the middle-top setting, with open window AIR cushioning technology and huge plastic heel tray, but the 4th generation is lighter. Add a new mesh fabric that first appeared in Nike products. When Tinker Hatfield talked about the first two pairs of Air Jordans he designed, he said: “They are a bit utilitarian to me. The first pair of Michael’s sneakers, people’s attitude is “Whoa”. The second pair, he wants more. Okay, able to surpass all other people’s sneakers.”

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Air Jordan 4 was released during the All-Star Weekend. The initial color scheme is similar to the third generation of “White/Cement” and “Black/Cement. As the season progresses, “White/Black/Red” and “White/Blue” will follow. “Color matching. The White/Black/Red color matching is the most common color matching, and it is also the color matching that has not been fined on the court since the Air Jordan 1.

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Maybe it’s weird for the generation who watched the superstars put on different special color sneakers every night, but in the late 1980s, the commercially available color schemes sold by Air Jordan were limited to Michael Jordan’s players. Except for some of the special sneakers that entered Nike’s early days, what you can buy is the color matching of Michael Jordan’s game.
When the Air Jordan 1 was released, the market positioning of this pair of sneakers was to hope that it would become a status symbol. Air Jordan 4 was released four years later, and it is now a status symbol. In Jordan 4, people’s lives are affected in both sports and culture directions. On May 7, 1989, in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, in Game 5, Michael Jordan eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers with a difficult lore, becoming Jordan’s masterpiece and the classic “The Shot” of the league. On July 21st, Spike Lee released “Do the Right Thing”, which built a complete story around Air Jordan 4 and truly completed the transformation of the meaning of sneakers.

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But the really crazy part is that although this pair of sneakers has created many historic moments on the court, has excellent commercial promotion, and only sold four different color schemes, there are only four color schemes throughout the season, not four in a day Color matching. The Fire Red color scheme was not sold out at the time. According to people’s memories at that time, when the Air Jordan 5 was released in 1990, the Air Jordan 4 began to be discounted. The same is true for many pairs of sneakers afterwards. 100 US dollars was not a cheap pair of sneakers for many families at that time.
The 4th generation of the Fire Red color scheme was re-engraved three times before, all with the heel with the trapeze logo. In 2020, we finally usher in a more original OG version with the Nike Air logo followed. It’s hard to believe that it has been 20 years since Jordan Brand placed the trapeze logo on replica sneakers. This setting has become a habit for many people, especially those who were not born in the age when Michael Jordan played. People who have seen his difficult lore. The return of Nike’s Air logo is a good thing for both Nike and Jordan Brand. Especially in this era, Nike needs Air Jordan to become its top basketball shoe and promote it together as a whole.

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Air Jordan 4 is what this pair of sneakers should look like. If the third generation draws people’s attention to Michael Jordan’s feet, then the meaning of the fourth generation is to return people’s focus to Jordan himself.
Tinker Hatfield said: “The 4th generation is a bit like someone asked” Can you make top-notch basketball shoes? “So I removed some decorative elements and added more technology. This generation of sneakers does not have any important inspiration or story. It is a bit like. We need to make a new grid design. We want it to be lighter and look at it. It looks a little different.”
So we have seen that this pair of sneakers is still in fashion, and is still gaining more recognition with its own story. You can dislike its design, but you can’t ignore its status.


Post time: Dec-17-2021