Jordan 4

Air Jordan 4

In 1989, Michael Jordan turned up to the All-Star Game wearing his newest signature sneaker – the Jordan 4. Designed by the visionary Tinker Hatfield, it evolved Jordan’s basketball trainer once again, taking it to new heights of technological prowess while also giving it a unique aesthetic. Later that year, Jordan wore it while performing The Shot, making it an instant classic. Following this, the shoe became known for its off-court appearances, showing up in Hollywood movies and worn by famous celebrities. Its popularity has rarely waned, and today it remains one of the most beloved of all Jordan releases for both men and women.

In its debut year, there were four Air Jordan 4 colourways. There was the White Cement, whose white leather upper contains grey accents with black flecks, and the Black Cement, which is often known as the Bred for its use of a bold black and red colour scheme. Meanwhile, the Fire Red incorporates bright elements into its off-white outer, and the Military Blue elegantly combines white with light grey and blue highlights.

The next Jordan 4s arrived in 1999. Alongside retro editions of the Bred and White Cement were two new colourways with minor changes, including perforations instead of the over-moulded mesh and Jumpman branding on the heel. Known as the Oreo and the Columbia, each was faithfully recreated in 2015, the latter being given the name Legend Blue, just like other remakes of this famous colourway. Nowadays, the former is called Black Oreo to distinguish it from the 2021 White Oreo, which reverted back to mesh on its white flanks.

After 2000, there was a break of just a few years before the next launch, as 2004 brought two particularly memorable designs: the Cool Grey and the Classic Green. One combines leather and suede in a dusky grey, the other an almost all white outer with hints of eye-catching green. This brighter shoe also formed the basis for the Metallic Green, which was part of 2020’s Metallic Pack, consisting of the Metallic Red, Metallic Purple and Metallic Orange, all four exhibiting chrome effects on their colourful moulded eyelets.

Jordan Brand continued to innovate in 2005, launching two AJ4s with intriguing laser-etched graphics. One was a black, red and white version called the White Laser, the other a black sneaker with red and grey aspects known as the ‘Rare Air’ Black Laser. More recent releases have been modelled on these, including an off-white Laser colourway from 2015 and 2019’s Black Laser.

2006 delivered the first retro version of the Military Blue alongside other memorable Jordan 4s. There was the stealthy Black Cat – one of the many nicknames given to Michael Jordan during his career, the Pure Money, which has an all white build and a shiny silver Jumpman logo on its heel, and the Mist Blue, with its grey nubuck upper and offbeat blue and gold elements. Two more designs were inspired by Michael Jordan’s Motorsports team: the strikingly yellow Lightning and the bold black and yellow Thunder. The latter’s tonal contrasts were recreated in 2022 on the Red Thunder, whose radiant red accents led many to refer to the original as the Yellow Thunder.

In 2011, the AJ4 was chosen as one of the silhouettes for Nike’s annual Doernbecher Freestyle programme. Patient Isaiah Scott’s eccentric design incorporates an array of vivid colours, from bright orange to neon green, but its most unique feature is its Superman tongue patch. More novel creations came in 2012, including the Cavs, whose blue and orange colours represent a vintage Cleveland Cavaliers kit. In 2013, the brand continued its focus on new colourways via the all red Toro Bravo and the sophisticated Green Glow, with its appealing mint-coloured accents. Alongside this, there was also a black and green sneaker paying homage to both the Oregon Ducks and Tinker Hatfield, and the Fear Pack, which included an AJ4 with a suede upper that fades from grey to black.

2015 was the beginning of another fruitful period for the Air Jordan 4, with back-to-back releases in every year since. It started with the first AJ4 Baseball Cleats, and continued in 2016 with the memorable Alternate 89, which mirrors the Chicago Bulls ‘88-’89 home kit, and the Dunk From Above, with its dark navy and matte yellow tones. Meanwhile, 2017 featured two more shoes based on Michael Jordan Motorsports, one in the team’s white, black and blue colours, and the Motorsports Alternate in black, blue and grey. The same year brought the black and gold Royalty, before an exclusive kids sneaker known as Linen was released, its white upper marked with Light Sand accents. 2018 then delivered more colourful releases, including the Raptors, whose purple, black and red tones reference the Toronto basketball team, and the Tattoo, whose leather upper is coated with a black and white basketball graphic.

2019 was the sneaker’s 30th anniversary, and Jordan Brand chose to mark it with both retro designs and brand new colourways. Alongside an AJ4 OG model of the Bred and a faithful AJ4 Retro edition of the Cool Grey, there was the first Flyknit version, its use of Nike’s flexible fabric making it more lightweight. Four monochrome colourways were released, including the all blue Hyper Royal, the smouldering University Red and the neon green Volt. The first Jordan 4 Winterized was also created to offer a more rugged option, and NCAA basketball teams were honoured, with Player Exclusive models decorated in the college colours of both Georgetown and Michigan.

More women’s exclusives were added to the series as well, one a stunning pink sneaker appropriately known as Hot Punch, and another called Mushroom, which incorporates muted tones such as Fossil beige. The International Basketball Federation was then celebrated on the FIBA colourway, with its golden Jumpman logo and unique “For the love of the game” text. Being the 30th year of the Air Jordan 4, the iconic silhouette was honoured with the Retro SE What The colourway – all four original designs seamlessly combined into one magnificent sneaker – and the Flight Nostalgia, whose white outer features black and Bright Crimson highlights. Not only was 2019 the anniversary of the AJ4, it was also that of the Spike Lee movie Do the Right Thing, which is intricately linked to the Jordan line, and a special pack of two sneakers was created to recognise this.

By the 2020s, the Air Jordan 4 was so globally revered that each year brought a host of never-before-seen colourways. 2020 delivered the Neon 95 – the AJ4’s take on the classic Air Max 95 – and the mesmerising Sashiko, which is part of a wider series featuring Japanese-inspired decorative stitching. Alongside these were the vibrant Lemon Venom, the colourful Rasta and the bright green Manila, which was released to celebrate the first Jordan Brand boutique to open in the Philippines.

Moving into 2021, the light blue tone of Jordan’s UNC alma mater arrived on the AJ4 University Blue. This was backed up by colourways like the spacesuit-inspired Starfish, the lightly toned Shimmer, and the Taupe Haze, which artfully blends suede and cracked leather. There were also two distinctive models specifically aimed at kids: the black and white DIY, with its lively sidewall graphics, and the fleecy Wild Things, whose red and lime green elements stand out against its light brown upper. Alongside these, AJ4 Golf shoes were created in both classic and new colourways, all with specialised studs on the outsole.

As 2022 came around, the Air Jordan 4 continued to gain momentum with some of its biggest ever releases. The summer brought the refined Military Black, which emulates the blue colourway from 1989, and the dusky Infrared, its charcoal-coloured outer accented with pops of red. In June, former Chicago Bulls coach Phil Jackson was commemorated with the tie-dye-patterned Zen Master, and the first in the Canvas series came out. Called the Blank Canvas, it has a creamy white outer that contrasts with that of the subsequent Black Canvas, whose canvas upper has a black and Light Steel colour scheme. Meanwhile, the Canyon Purple arrived as another women’s model, this one covered in fuzzy purple suede, and the Midnight Navy capped off a great year with its elegant white upper and rich navy blue branding effects.

2023 started strongly with the imaginatively named Messy Room, whose French Blue upper and bright orange and red accents are meant to resemble a child’s room. The graceful Seafoam followed, with its appealing Oil Green shading, alongside a brand new model known as the Air Jordan 4 Craft and released in a Photon Dust colourway with light grey suede detailing. The use of luxurious materials is a feature of the Craft that returned on the Olive design released later in the year. Meanwhile, the Frozen Moments offered a lighter option through its tan and grey outer and metallic silver structural wings, and Jordan Brand made an addition to its Cement series with the Red Cement.

Since the mid 2000s, the Air Jordan 4 has attracted an assortment of talented collaborators. The earliest was sneaker boutique Undefeated, whose 2005 black and olive nubuck design was inspired by the MA-1 bomber jacket. Next was American musician Eminem, who helped to craft a blue and black sneaker entitled Encore after his 2004 album. He went on to collaborate with Jordan again in 2015, this time bringing apparel brand Carhartt into the fold to produce an AJ4 with a black twill upper and distinctive emblems. Two years later, American artist Brian Donnelly designed a duo of suede-covered shoes under his pseudonym KAWS, both featuring elements of his unique art.

In 2018, repeat Nike collaborator Travis Scott put his mark on the silhouette with a blue version nicknamed Cactus Jack that is based on the old Houston Oilers American Football team. Jordan then partnered with Levi’s to produce three Denim sneakers, one white, another black, and the last a classic blue. That same year, Mark Wahlberg’s burger restaurant, Wahlburgers, helped to make an AJ4 coated in an electric shade of green with the company’s logo on the tongue, while 2019 saw a collaboration with Nordstrom’s VP of Creative Projects, Olivia Kim, who designed the all black No Cover, with its furry upper and metallic structural wings.

The Air Jordan 4’s popularity as a collaborative sneaker carried on into the next decade as one of Nike’s most celebrated partners, Off-White™, crafted a unique Sail edition adorned with some of Virgil Abloh’s trademark design details. Football club Paris Saint-Germain then released an AJ4 with Jordan Brand, its rich purple highlights and PSG branding adding a new kind of elegance to the model. 2020 was also the year that clothing brand Union LA debuted the first two in a series of offbeat Jordan 4s – the Off Noir and the Guava Ice. The revamped, multi-coloured upper seen on this duo returned in 2021 on the Desert Moss and Taupe Haze colourways.

In 2021, Eastside Golf collaborated on a Jordan 4, making a primarily white golf shoe with a one-of-a-kind graphic of a golfer mid-swing behind the translucent outsole. One year later, another repeat collaborator worked on an AJ4 as fashion boutique A Ma Maniére created the Violet Ore, giving it a purple nubuck upper and a cosy quilted inner. Then, in 2023, a long-awaited partnership with Nike SB finally materialised, producing the incredibly popular Pine Green colourway.

The story of the Air Jordan 4 began with a monumental moment in basketball history before going on to become a cultural phenomenon. This established it as an iconic shoe early on, but the collection of unique designs that have graced the silhouette in the decades since have helped to maintain its popularity through to the present day, when it now stands as one of the most beloved of all sneakers.