The Russ Report: Retros of Retros? Exposing Sneaker Culture's Generation Gap

Jordan Brand's renewed focus on retros means that they now pander to a younger demographic. We explain.

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Complex Original

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Right around the year 2000, sneaker culture changed in a big way. It changed in such a big way that you could almost make the turn of the millennium a B.C. - A.D. type shift. Because before that, sneaker history was a clear, linear progression, one model leading to the next. Then in ‘99, after Michael Jordan retired and Jordan Brand decided to try retros again, everything changed. Everything.



IT MAKES SENSE THAT RETRO RELEASES WOULD BE MADE TO APPEAL MORE TO THAT TWENTY-SOMETHING FAN.


Why are we talking about this now? Because the Tech Grey—excuse me, “Oreo”—Air Jordan IVs are re-releasing this weekend, and there might be no better shoe to define this paradigm shift. For those of you who weren’t old enough to be buying, or for that matter, tying, shoes in the late ‘90s, the release of the “Retro Plus” Jordan IVs was something of a fizzle. Everyone wanted the OGs, the black/red and the white/cement. The quality of the tumbled leather white/Columbia and black IVs was apparent, but they just weren’t proper IVs, what with the Jumpman on the heel and the leather wings and backtab. They hit with a different consumer, one who wasn’t quite as caught up in Air Jordan history, one who likely didn’t know (or care) who Craig Ehlo was.

A decade and a half later, everything is flipped on its head. Jordan’s much-lauded “Remastering” program, meant to restore older models to closer-to-original form, has focused not on Jordan-worn colorways, but releases like the “Oreo” IVs and the French Blue VIIs, later releases that featured more supple leather than their original counterparts. In 2015, quality is king. And as Jordan’s playing career retreats further and further into the past, and Jordan fans (like myself, for example) fade from the prime sneaker demographic, it makes sense that retro releases would be made to appeal more to that twenty-something fan.

Which brings us back to the “Oreos.” They originally released back in 1999—just 10 years after the original Air Jordan IV dropped. So in terms of what has become the regular retro cycle, dropping them again now makes perfect sense. Someone who had them when they were 10, maybe as their first-ever Jordans, is 26 now, presumably with more disposable income. It makes sense that Jordan would bring back the “Oreos,” the French Blues, even the laser IVs.

Retros of retros. This is going to be the new normal as the 10-year cycle eats itself, and as sneaker companies attempt to appeal to those who came of age in the early 2000s. Original styles will never go away entirely—a remastered white/black/red Air Jordan 1s drops later this spring—but they likely won’t be the main priority anymore. Which is totally understandable. Jordan, like any other company, has to produce what they think will sell. And you can’t just keep doing “O.G.” colorways over and over and over again.

Still, it’s hard not to be somewhat disappointed by the remastering program so far. Not that the shoes themselves are bad—far from it. But it’s as if Def Jam had announced their own remastering program and started by re-releasing Ja Rule’s albums instead of LL Cool J’s. One would have thought that the first remastered IV would have been a style from 1989, not 1999. But that change in 1999 did happen, and created something of a rift that exists to this day. These releases are just making it clear which side you’re on.