Sneaker News Top 30 of 2012
December 28th, 2012 by Sneaker News | 182 comments
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8 | REEBOK QUESTION
“Reebok back.” That slogan has been thrown around for a couple of years now as a mantra that promised the brand’s return to former glory, a return to the days when there was far more parity with other sportswear giants like adidas and Nike. The phrase has never held truer than in 2012, wherein the Vector Brand made a huge statement in the retro scene with the re-introduction of the Reebok Question, renegade baller Allen Iverson’s first signature sneaker. AI remains probably the closest thing any other brand has to a Michael Jordan figure, having amassed a loyal fan following during his prime for his on and off court flair, and there’s no reason why his story and the surrounding sneakers can’t reclaim their relevance in a market so thirsty for reissues.
The story began with the return of two important original colorways, the white/red and the white/navy, both utilizing a clean white base and slapping on their bits of color with a pearlized tint on the toe and back tab. The navy among that duo had a particular significance for Iverson fans, being the same colorway he donned during that immortal highlight reel moment wherein AI put an ankle breaking crossover on His Airness. From then on Reebok handed the reins over to a few outside partners, partnering with a couple of US sneaker retail institutions to further spread the Reebok Question message.
Detroit’s Burn Rubber was first up, rechristening the model as the Reebok Inquiry and whipping up a backstory featuring the fictional tragic bad boy superstar, Apollos Young. Adding some ample hometown flavor, the “Inquiry” version featured a throwback color combo based on the Pistons’ infamous 90′s uniforms. Later it was the mighty Packer Shoes of Teaneck, New Jersey, who kept things locked
on Iverson with two separate editions. The first came with inspiration from one of Iverson’s most memorable off court moments – the legendary “Practice” press conference. The sneaker pushed a bit more color onto the model than the inline styles, with gold embroidery, a translucent cherry red sole, and a deep blue base helping to capture the Philly feel along with 7/6 heel stitching replacing the standard 3 from the originals. The second Packer Shoes x Reebok Question release came with a sharp red nubuck covering the entire upper, again throwing in hits of blue and white to bring the Sixers theme to life and giving the classic model a taste of the gum sole treatment as the finishing touch.
With respect to this year’s Reebok Question retro comeback campaign, Reebok did just about everything right with this one. They recognized the importance of slapping a definite release date on the return of the 1996 classic and positioning it in the right places to help boost street cred. They also had a powerful cultural arbiter on their side in the form of Swizz Beatz, who took to social media spheres to promote these, and plenty of other releases, with a real passion that seemed to extend beyond whatever contract he’s got in place. They even brought back some other pieces from the AI line to similar fanfare, with the Reebok Answer IV picking up quite a few more followers this year in the process. And this is only the beginning for Reebok Classics as the success of the Question this year gives them all the momentum they need to re-introduce folks to their gigantic catalog of worthy throwbacks. With retros from the Shaq and Shawn Kemp lines apparently on their way, Reebok is indeed back, and it’s safe to say they’ve got a few more welcome blasts from the past still on the way.
THIS SNEAKER IS DOPE!!!!! I WISH I COULD JUST GRAB FROM MY SCREEN RIGHT NOW. LOL!!!
fresh as fuck my niqha
蛋疼吧你
艹 真好看
It goes Rookie Galexy/ Yeezy/Galexy foaM
I like zhe AJ4
can you speak chinese？
@AJ123 不
avapkicks speaks blasphemy. Questions, Answers, any of the Pump series. I know this is only your opinion but damn.
no rookie galaxy
Playoffs 11's or the black cement 4's should of been number one!
i luv lebrons
reebok has never made a good shoe period
You crazy, you not a real sneaker head if you think reebok dont make good shoes@avapkicks
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@Chris Sneakerhead
how much?
Anyone know a levit wesite to buy shoes?
Anyone know a online website for shoes .. A legit website
@xavier987654321 its a few out there but their stock wont b that vast and the price will b super high
nice
I also feel some sort of way that the best release of a signature shoe all year wasn't featured by itself. The KD IV! I dislike every other KD except this one, including the KD V. These were incredibly made, had GORGEOUS colorways, and are the only low top basketball shoes I will ever hoop in because the fit and feel is INCREDIBLE. I can't see how the "Aunt Pearls" or "Gold Medals" weren't on this list representing in their own right! Besides ridiculously limited quantities, and thus leading to huge hype; I don't see how these wouldn't have made a top 15 list let alone a top 30. But hey, that's just my opinion.
Honestly my #1 release of the year was the "Paranorman" Foam. I have copped every limited release and general release foam since 97, and these are the only ones I haven't retrieved; and honestly, it's the one time I didn't feel cheated by either the company (Nike) or retailers as to why I didn't get a release of a particular shoe. It seemed to be an honest and fair raffle on twitter, that gave that patron an extremely well deserved prize for sharing a picture that directly linked to the theme of the product. I submitted plenty of "weird" childhood pics, but understanding that I might not be 1 of the 800 "weirdest" children captured in the world helped settle my disappointment. I haven't even mentioned the craft and beauty of the shoe itself. Next to the galaxy and metallic red it would be my 3rd favorite foamposite. The release was genuine, the theme and idea was genuine and the shoe was simply AMAZING! My favorite sneaker was the galaxy (My favorite sneakers have been foams since they released so I'm extremely bias), but the amount of BS i had to go through and amount of money I had to pay to purchase one pair to actually rock was ridiculous, even though I was and always am willing to do all sorts of waiting, and hours of lines to purchase releases. The paranormans were all positives about a sneaker and it's release, in a world where the "sneaker game" has taken a turn for the worse. It was a huge breath of fresh air on a very recently SUPER HYPED model of sneaker that ranks #1 all time in my opinion.
the zoom revis should have been in the top 1O in my opinion..they were fire!
where the crimson foams at
I don't agree with this list but hey to each their own
Where's the wdywt app SN? Lol just curious on the progress.
Personally i think the foamposite galaxies was the best shoe of 2012 not a huge fan of the yeezys anyway
Amazing pictures that showed off of the little nuances that made each shoe special. Overall this was a good list but I would not have included the Lebron X. That shoe still hasn't found its must have colorway. I can't wait until they announce the Black Friday and Christmas Jordan retros.
For real here. Not brand new but a lil shiny to sneaker blog, release thing. Is there any place like Hanon shop. On line or in our country? Why they do all those great New Balance colorways?
@Tuddy306 You should go back and start over (Kindergarten, first grade, etc.).
Stussy shoe is diffrent. But just in case they gotta slap New York on the back. No hater here I'm a fan of Supreme but enough New York. U dont rule the shoe world. Maybe it's Orgon?
I'm from philly and all but two of Iverson" shoes are crap.
Thebeaner. Is right! His shoes are simply done right. On my shoe list for 2013. Geta pair.
i feel the PARANORMANS was a better FOAM than the GALAXY foams. that slime green on the bottom is better than the galaxys. the green slime smoke screen on the side is dope i mean, the galaxy was dope but i feel the PARANORMANS are better
The Ewings were trash when they were release in the early 90's. hypebeast have made trash popular
@Qubayza ur so right. Slap in the face. These company's think they can re-release crap and cause a craze. They're prob right. I'm sitn in a little row home w/ 18 yrs left til I own it. Has nuthn to do wit bein a knick fan, when I was a young buck I laughed that shoe. Rember bobo's.well they're back in blue and orange
@Qubayza Your entitled to your own opinion, but must not be from NY or if you did you must have lived under a rock back then. When the Ewings dropped EVERYONE under 25 had them back in the 90's. No internet ,no hype machine... just hard core Knickerbocker fans.
@IgotthatFIRE @Qubayza you are correct about that! i had the ewings back in the day and they was the joints to have in NYC! and that buzz came off of seeing people with them, not like how sneaks now a days are constantly pushed by the companies themselves! but to say ewings are trash you are seriously a rookie in this game
props to ronnie fieg tho... He shouldve had most of all his releases on this list....
Think some of the things that go into being on that list are shoes that can leave a lasting impact because of material . Or that represent a trend in the shoe game. For example i wouldnt paint in that Ewing shoe but it does say somthn about todays sneaker buyer and trends.
Nike Flyknit over Bred 11s , 4s , etc ... REALLY?
@WZRDUPSO The Flyknits were just a marketing ploy by Nike for the Olympics. They are ridiculous and only look decent in volt.
@WZRDUPSO yes puto.... flynit is crazy in all aspects with respect to AJ11 bred
@WZRDUPSO wait til u see the technology of that flyknit shoe inspires. Gona b a whole species of shoe w/ that technology. Like hyperfuse is in air max 90 lunar tr 1 , or the lunar bottom af 1 even cole hann shoes. See what i'm sayn. Flyknit gota b somewhere on that list.
Nice kicks
ok so the yeezy got number 1...If we took all the branding of it wouldnt make the list right
how are those lebrons better than playoff 11s LOL
@npt the 11s came out when? the lebrons has BETTER technology going for it! thats why, it's a better shoe to ball in, but as for looks, i rather wear the 11s
This a nice shoe should have been higher
I'm not new at shoes. I am new at being able to comment on shoes. Lets just say no iphones where i was. I dont collect. I wear. The list was big. Sneaker News didnt have to cut alot out. New Balance shoe collabs are incredible. As an oldhead where was air max 95 BB and Lunar Air Force 1. Get that Ewing shoe out there. It was a money project from the beginning. The big shoe companies weren't gona give an aging slow center a big shoe deal. Its a crap shoe. In 10 years if my nephew is paying $400 for Shaq's shoe. I'll wear sandals!
This list is absolutely horrible. Lebron X's shouldn't have made the list at all much less #5