The Air Jordan 4 returns for yet another classic release in the form of concept art and this time, they’ve hit it out of the park yet again. There is a lot you can do to ruin an Air Jordan 4’s design but these talented artists know exactly what to do in order to make a colorway that works, often doing so better than Jordan Brand themselves. A reason for that is that these artists sometimes build off of existing colorways and spinoffs of classics like the Air Jordan 4 Infrared, Bred, and many others. It appears that this time, they’ve done so again. Presenting, the Air Jordan 4 Varsity Metal Grey!
When developing the Air Jordan 4, Tinker Hatfield had the tall job of outdoing himself. It was no simple assignment to succeed the iconic Air Jordan 3, which many think is Michael Jordan’s personal favorite. Thankfully, the architect-turned-sneaker designer came through, and the Air Jordan 4 is currently perhaps the most popular Air Jordan on the market. Tinker Hatfield only produced four colors, but he really created six, two of which are unreleased and one of them features a black/red colorway. This Air Jordan 4 Varsity Metal Grey may have been what that missing colorway may have looked like.
Coming to the design of this striking new addition, uppers are seemingly constructed with the usual mesh and nubuck. Grey leather covers the toes that lead onto the side panels and all the way to the rears of the shoe. Toe boxes come in a similar hue and lead up to mesh black paneling in a netted design. These throats are wrapped up in traditional black laces and cornered by grey leather eye stays as well as metallic eyelets. Large grey tumbled leather tongues also carry black tags with bright red Jump-Man branding.
Furthermore, tongue liners are Varsity Red as well, leading down to the interiors of the shoe that feature the same titular hue. Although we don’t have an interior image, the inserts are also likely either black or red with additional branding. We can just make out black heel tabs as well that also likely feature more embossed Jump-Man branding. Finally, bright Varsity Red midsoles with exposed Air units and dark grey rugged outsoles finish off the design. If interested in copping a similar pair, check out the Air Jordan 4 Retro Black Cement (2012). For more content such as this, stay tuned!