NomadicSole21 said
"Not trying to go against what you guys said, but Avar has done alot of work that wouldnt necessarily sell, or have that mass appeal. Its because he hadthe ability to do so and use his creativity as a designer to push the edge on what a basketball shoe should be.
Take the Foamposites for example. If you just ask a random John Doe what they think about the shoe, it wouldnt be all that positive. The Kobe IVs for anotherexample. Creating a high end, low top shoe for basketball is crazy talk...but once Avar and Kobe had the free ability to do so, look at what they did.
But each shoe, still continues to sell well, both pushed the edge on what a basketball shoe should be not only by the looks, but the aesthetics that go alongwith creating them. Im not saying the Innovation Kitchen is the greatest thing in the world, atleast these designers get to be really creative and get to dowhat they want even if its under certain Nike guidlines."
What you have to understand is that the Foamposites and ZKIV were designed under two different environments. During the 90's the basketball footwear marketwas the biggest and it was also perceived by the public to be the "coolest" market. The public wanted high tech/performance (or at least was willingto buy high tech shoes) driven basketball shoes. Nike, Adidas, and Reebok kicks were crazier design wise than modern shoes. Nike had greater freedom on whatthey could design because there was more of a market for it.
Fast forward to 2007 around the time that the ZKIV was being designed and the athletic footwear landscape is totally different. At the beginning of this decaderetro/casual footwear became the biggest market. In 2004 with the release of the Hurache 2K4 Nike realized that the public wanted clean and simple basketballshoes. The Hyperdunk and ZKIV are extensions of that shoe, that is why sell. There is nothing really cutting edge with the new Kobe like you say. It is a nicelooking shoe but creativity it is inferior to the Kobe 3 or Kobe 2. It is not a true low top like it was being marketed. There have been other high end low topkicks before, so was is special about the Kobe IV? The Basketball market is still big but it is shrinking. At the end of the day Nike is a business they willmake products that sell. Why do you think Nike is doing all these fusions, modernizing older shoes, etc because the market wants more casual inspired footwearor footwear that is reminiscent of shoes from the 90's. This public wants simple and clean basketball shoes or retro shoes, which is why the ZKIV andFoamposites sell well.
