This regular Friday column of mine may not have a name (yet!) but it does seem to be developing an overarching theme of sorts. Namely the seemingly impossible task of trying to nudge this sneaker “game” or “culture” or whatever you want to call it back to what made the late ‘80s and early ‘90s into the so-called Golden Era. There are some problems, obviously. Michael Jordan is retired, performance basketball sneakers are no longer made from leather, releases come so much faster nowadays. Retro exists. But that’s not to say there aren’t changes that can be made.
DEFINITIVE COLORWAYS HELP SNEAKERS ESTABLISH A FIRM IDENTITY.
Here is one: Sneaker companies can take the power back from an increasingly petulant customer base that can’t seem to understand the difference between wanting something and needing it. Just because something can be made doesn’t mean it has to be. But companies have bent over backwards to cater to every whim, to their detriment. Want to know a secret? People will buy the sneakers anyway.
This is a broad stroke, and I don’t mean to incriminate everyone. Nor do I mean that companies shouldn’t take ANY of their customers’ concerns to heart. For example, Jordan’s “remastering” of their retro line should be applauded. (Although it should ALSO be noted that, despite near-constant complaints about retro quality, people bought them in record numbers anyway.) For today, this is about one thing: colorways.
The LeBron 12, which finally released this week after a bit of a delay, has already been seen in six different colorways, all of which should release before the start of 2015. Save for the 1, no original Air Jordan released in six colorways TOTAL until the X in 1995, and that was just because of the “City Pack” releases. Even the first couple of LeBron releases were comparatively moderate color-wise outside of special makeups.
Why does this matter? I’m glad I asked. For a sneaker to become a classic, a lot of things need to happen. The design needs to be right, for starters, and there generally needs to be some sort of cultural connection — whether it’s through a pro athlete or a pop culture phenomenon, or both. But there also needs to be a definitive colorway. And that colorway doesn’t need to be set by crowdsourcing. The white and green adidas Stan Smith, the Infrared Nike Air Max 90, the red- and blue-toe Reebok Questions, these were top-down ideas that caught on, not the other way around.
Think of an iconic signature shoe, like, say, the Air Jordan III (which originally released in just four colorways spread over all of 1988). Imagine if it had instead released in 20 different colors over that year — the Mocha “lifestyle” ones, a Laney High model, a “Mars” version, maybe some UNCs. Would it have wound up having the same impact? Maybe. But maybe not. Something would have been lost. Definitive colorways help sneakers establish a firm identity.
People will buy the sneakers anyway. Instead of setting out to match every single current trend and release models for every conceivable occasion and inspiration, let’s see something of a return to sneakers being the creation of actual professional designers simply utilizing the palette they like best, and the one that works best with their design. Keep the ID options, and go crazy on the retros, but let the flagships breathe.
Russ Bengtson is a Complex senior staff writer who would rather have fewer choices, even when it comes to lunch. Follow him on Twitter here.
