Nike Air Alpha Force 88

[vettez06]

I thought about the Kanye comparison too, but that's a whole different deal and a road I didn't wanna go down haha. This poor unproblematic girl isn't advocating for Nazis. She just wants to make music and keep her gigantic boobs hidden so people will focus on said music.

I've wanted these shoes since I saw Barkley destroying people in them back in the day. But they're attached to Darnell Valentine, so now I gotta rethink.

Kanye's been making Yeezy's since 2015 and I don't have a single pair because of his antics. My issues with him were way before his antisemitic comments so that was never my focus.

But you're right about Billie.

HEY MAN I SAID THAT WE WERE KINDA PETTY having an issue with the small branding but that's just how we feel

Lifelong Lakers fan but I remember The Microwave wearing them too.

 

[green rhino123]

...they're attached to Darnell Valentine...

Lifelong Lakers fan but I remember The Microwave wearing them too.

Now yall are just showing off.

 

[jshortt]

Kanye's been making Yeezy's since 2015 and I don't have a single pair because of his antics. My issues with him were way before his antisemitic comments so that was never my focus.

But you're right about Billie.

HEY MAN I SAID THAT WE WERE KINDA PETTY having an issue with the small branding but that's just how we feel

Lifelong Lakers fan but I remember The Microwave wearing them too.

MICROWAVE!! I remember ol' Vinnie having some really cool posters. The shoe store I went to back in the day used to have a crazy poster rack. Still got a couple of those around. RIP Fleet Feet! Y'all blessed me with many a Nike and Starter jersey.

EDIT: This is the one that's burned into my brain...

 

[rainking]

Aight, fellas. I’m calling it.

We (including me) need to let this whole BE thing go. Nike did what it did here. Makes little sense but … truly, so what? We’ve waited 35 years for these to come back. Think about that.

I can be a master nitpicker as you all know, but ultimately in this case they’ve done the shoes pretty damn well. Both versions, it seems.

Let’s just enjoy it and stock up. My second pair of the non-BE fire reds came in today. Been wearing the hell out of my first pair, too. And loving it.

That’s all that matters.

 

[vettez06]

MICROWAVE!! I remember ol' Vinnie having some really cool posters. The shoe store I went to back in the day used to have a crazy poster rack. Still got a couple of those around. RIP Fleet Feet! Y'all blessed me with many a Nike and Starter jersey.

EDIT: This is the one that's burned into my brain...

Definitely a cool poster and they had lots of nice posters back then!

I liked his game and his nickname and for some unknown reason I remember him wearing the Alpha Forces.

After checking he wore some classics, saw the Flight 89's and others.

 

[vettez06]

Now yall are just showing off.

For some reason I remember Vinnie wearing them just like I remember Rodman wearing the Revolutions.

 

[jshortt]

For some reason I remember Vinnie wearing them just like I remember Rodman wearing the Revolutions.

It's weird how stupid stuff like this gets burned into our brains, but not important things.

 

[jshortt]

Aight, fellas. I’m calling it.

We (including me) need to let this whole BE thing go. Nike did what it did here. Makes little sense but … truly, so what? We’ve waited 35 years for these to come back. Think about that.

I can be a master nitpicker as you all know, but ultimately in this case they’ve done the shoes pretty damn well. Both versions, it seems.

Let’s just enjoy it and stock up. My second pair of the non-BE fire reds came in today. Been wearing the hell out of my first pair, too. And loving it.

That’s all that matters.

This is all I was saying. I still don't understand why Nike decided to pair Billie with the Alphas, and I doubt I ever will. But I guess we never got any type of reasoning for why Travis was paired with any of the shoes he got either. What I DO know is that Nike did a damn good job retroing these (for once) and I wasn't going to let a strange collab push me away from such a classic.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Reading the comments, I hope these hit the outlets for the low low. I already cop a pair a few weeks ago. I'm going to wait these out.

 

[vettez06]

It's weird how stupid stuff like this gets burned into our brains, but not important things.

Very true!

 

[keelogram]

I just got home with my pair. I'll give em a good look, but at first glance I didn't notice anything that seemed any worse than a typical Nike synthetic. Somebody else said it earlier, and I think I agree, that they're just attaching the "vegan" to this one partly because of the algae ink, but mostly because it'll put a different set of eyes on them. Technically, isn't all "synthetic" leather vegan?

Nope. The use of the word “vegan” refers to the “leather” used. Nothing to do with the algae.

Though we may complain about the quality of the shoes, Nike does use real leather. Sometimes is mixed with other stuff to cut costs and sometimes they give us a more premium cut or version of leather.

Vegan leather is animal cruelty free. No amount of animal products (leather) is allowed for the product to be considered vegan. 100% synthetic

 

[jshortt]

Nope. The use of the word “vegan” refers to the “leather” used. Nothing to do with the algae.

Though we may complain about the quality of the shoes, Nike does use real leather. Sometimes is mixed with other stuff to cut costs and sometimes they give us a more premium cut or version of leather.

Vegan leather is animal cruelty free. No amount of animal products (leather) is allowed for the product to be considered vegan. 100% synthetic

I was just poking fun. I wasn't comparing this to any other real leather Nike uses. A synthetic is a synthetic is a synthetic to me. I don't care if it's "vegan" synthetic, or Nikebuck, or whatever the hell else kind of synthetic Nike wants to use.

Actually, according to Billie's site, it looks like these aren't vegan leather, they're recycled. Guess I just heard that narrative on here and assumed it was fact since she's used it before. Of course it also says that her logo is on the tongue and it's not, so who knows what's accurate.

 

[ShootYourShotTV]

Lmk when the black pair goes on sale. I’d love these under $90

 

[jln912]

Isn’t synthetic leather not real leather … that’s why it’s synthetic lol artificial

 

[truenike81]

All Nike products are synthetic crap no real genuine leather products and I can't complaint cause I still buy

 

[brian8598]

All Nike products are synthetic crap no real genuine leather products and I can't complaint cause I still buy

The phrase "genuine leather" is even kinda industry code for garbage leather that can't be classified as full grain. Actual leather can be ruined by a super thick poly coat as well, or it can be bad splits or reconstituted leather (leatherboard, think particle board but leather fibers). But I'll go for actual leather made from animal hide over any "synthetic leather" I've ever seen any day, especially on a blind buy. Actual animal hide will always be better with wear. I would love for a synthetic leather to actually mimic the flex and wear and patina of actual animal hide, but I haven't seen it yet.

 

[jshortt]

Isn’t synthetic leather not real leather … that’s why it’s synthetic lol artificial

Correct.

 

[blazers21ntnp]

Billie’s > non-Billie’s

 

[ALNotSure]

 

[jopx]

Either way, I'm 2 down, 2 to go... White red tumbled, blk/white smooth so far.

I might grab a half size down to limit the creasing on the blk/white. Should still be available after my pair arrives and I try them on.

 

[ALNotSure]

The Billie thing doesn’t make me want the shoe anymore and it’s just weird to me. The other weird thing is to make an exact colorway that was just released with minor changes. But It won’t push me away from it.

I’ll post comparo shots soon. Likely will jump on the white/black when on sale. Looking around it’s sitting everywhere.

 

[da hen]

For some reason I remember Vinnie wearing them just like I remember Rodman wearing the Revolutions.

98% of the basketball shoes back were very similar to the revolutions, design and color wise.

Tinker came along and did something with the Air Jordan three and four that really, really changed the game,

the man is a genius baby.

 

[blazers21ntnp]

Comparison album…

 

[jln912]

Comparison album…

Cow just looks like the PRM version basically to me. Just looks like the higher quality one. I mean they do cost $10 more too but idk . I’ve always been a sucker for tumbled leather … makes my brain feel like I’m getting something closer to the 80s and 90s material wise . But The whole thing gives me a headache trying to think of why they did it like this lol

 

[vettez06]

Comparison album…