Were 80s and 90s shoes even chunky? Besides the basketball shoes I can't think of anythe current trend is the that of "dad" shoes; the chunkier 80s/90s looking models. even high end brands are following similar styling for their sneakers. the 998 is a bit too "sleek" for the current trend, so NB is capitalizing on the current hype and pumping out the models that are more desirable today. folks are also shifting from Nike to other brands like NB, since you have to jump through hoops just to get a pair of GR dunks.