- 8,327
- 8,032
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2011
Originally Posted by Wayne141
Wasn't common knowledge til the retros released? I don't know where you got that from, but every interview I've seen Tinker give on the XIIIs mentioned the cat/jaguar influence and I was around for the OGs. I also have no idea where you're from, but there were definitely people bugging about the upper on the XIIIs where I was, not necessarily sneakerheads but just regular people. Who knows, might just be regional, not saying you're wrong.Originally Posted by sorianotron
I cant agreeOriginally Posted by Wayne141
VIs are classic, and the snake theme was fine. Looking at the line as a whole, to me it's just cool they did a sig that maxed out that concept since it's his nickname. I mean the Jordan XIIIs were kind of the same thing for MJ's nickname the Black Cat. I remember when the XIIIs first dropped and some people were kind of weirded out by the "whisker holes" on the upper too. Not saying the VIs are on the same level as the XIIIs cuz XIIIs > VIs to me, but I can appreciate what each of those sigs do for the respective lines.
It wasn't really common knowledge these were even designed after a jaguar until the retros came out, and trust no one was really bugging about "whisker holes" in 97. And just to add to that, all AJ sig models had DIFFERENT themes/inspiration. Kobe has had like 4 shoes now with a snake theme. What about 5 years from now, are they gonna still be incorporating snake elements? Thats placing your design team in a small box...As a designer I would HATE to design a shoe year after year following the same theme. As a consumer you end up paying premium price for a product that damn near looks like its predecessor 4 years in a row now.
Thats what made the AJ line iconic, each shoe has its own personality. Something that has lacked in Kobes sig line. Honestly I am an avid KOBE supporter but I'll be the first to tell you his sig line w/ Nike has been disappointing. So much more potential design wise. And of course they will sell regardless seeing as KOBE is recognized as one of the most identifiable brands in the world today.
Hell, people even bought these:
But for a player of his caliber, his shoes are quite dull aesthetically. (crazy gimmicky colorways do not count)
With that being said, aside from the snake texture on these VII's, I think these are the best looking model so far, mainly because of the midsole.
I get your point on there being a snake thing going for a while and similarities between each sig, but can't you say the same thing about the Jordan line too? Like the IVs have that bit of cement influence from the IIIs and a similar shape, the Vs having that netting on the upper like the IVs, and then the VIs and VIIs are pretty similar too. I agree that overall the Jordan line in terms of having unique designs and everything > Kobe line for me too, but you can't deny there are at least some similarities between Jordan sigs as well. Every sig still kind of evolves from the previous one to maintain that line's overall character/style. You can definitely walk in a store and tell pretty quickly what the Kobes are, or the Lebrons, etc etc because they usually have some similarity in style. There are definitely some sigs that take the line in a completely different direction, but some similarities exist for a reason.
I know where you're coming from though. Been waiting for them a little while to get some inspirations from something else (Samurai cuz of the shozoku, Kobe's lambo, etc etc) than the Black Mamba/snake thing, but I still think it's cool they completely maxed out the snake concept just for the VIs.
Well put.
I guess I am so critical of the KOBE line since it was basically a dream to most of us when he came to Nike. Hell there were even rumors he was going to carry on the JB line before the rape stuff (anyone else remember this? It started as a rumor that began to catch full steam when he was getting crazy laker PE's during his "free-angency") The whole boulder colorado situation drastically effected the direction NIKE was going to go with KB. Instead of a signature shoe he became the face of the hurache 2k4's. I assumed NIKE was playing it safe for the sake of PR. They began to subtly launch his sig line, with MINIMAL marketing for the ZK1 seeing as KB was still in limbo PR wise with consumers. In return the shoes weren't marketed as a top tier nike product since they didnt have NIKES full attention design/technology/marketing/PR wise.
I always felt just up until 2-3 years ago KB's sig line always suffered residual effects from the HIT his image took during 03. The V-VI campaigns really seemed to mark KB as the PREMIER Nike Basketball Athlete, as we saw a decline in lebrons purchasing power due to KB's on-court success in recent years. The V was marketed as basically the best preforming Nike Basketball sneaker available at the time, and became the standard for nike athletes and reg. ballers alike. (This was huge for NIKE, never have we seen a sig so widely accepted and rocked within the league amongst other active players.)
In conclusion I believe the campaign behind the VI officially catapulted KB to the status i believe NIKE was prepared to market him in 03 before the boulder incident.
with that being said, good discussions yall...