John Kim 
Last week’s Sneaker News “Beauty Shots” of the Air Jordan V “Black Grape” was probably the final nail in the coffin in regards to your response to the release. Those who were “on the fence” were likely pushed over with great force into another Saturday sneaker purchase, while those who already considered these a must-have only found the wait tougher to endure. The original Air Jordan V “Grape” – one of the most revered OGs in the entire Air Jordan catalog – was already met with a great response when it re-released one month ago, and we figure the Black Grapes will experience the same simply because it tightly grasps that heralded “Grape” motif while embodying a whole new identity.
The “reversal” of colorways is hardly a new concept with sneakers as “Reverse” and “Un-” prefixes have been thrown around with sneakers for years. The mere replacement of yin for yang has been in use in basketball sneakers for decades with the idea of “Home” and “Away”, but other releases, like the Grape/Black Grape, have employed the exterior color-flip either arbitrarily or as part of a deeper concept. With the Black Grape finally releasing this weekend, we decided to look back at some of the best “Color Flips” of the past, so check out the gallery below and let us know which of these duets you enjoyed the most.
Air Jordan III “Black Flip” and “Flip”
2007 introduced the “Flip” concept, which reversed the blocking of the elephant print and tumbled leather. 2011 took it further and create an all-black version to contrast with the original white.
Air Jordan IV “Lightning” and “Thunder”
One of the few concepts ever employed by Jordan Brand resulted in one of the best color-flipped colorways in history. This limited online-only release from years ago stands as the highest-priced individual Retro releases ever.
Air Jordan III “Black Cat” and “Pure Money”
All-white and all-black – can’t get any more “reverse” than that. These releases of the Air Jordan III Retro embodied a metaphorical persona of Michael Jordan – the Black Cat and Pure Money.
Air Jordan V “Quai 54” – Friends-and-Family and Release Version
One for Euro customers only, the other for VIPs of VIPs. 2011’s Air Jordan V “Quai 54” was joined by the Hyperstrike Friends-and-Family version in a black nubuck.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Rayguns”
While the Raygun SB Dunks are indeed a “Home” and “Away” set, this flipped idea was unique in that the Black colorway represented “Home” while the White stood for “Away”. The Rayguns concept was revisited earlier this year as the core of Nike Sportswear’s 2013 All-Star releases.
Nike Zoom LeBron IV “NYC Remix”
The underrated Nike Zoom LeBron IV featured some of the best colorways ever on the LeBron shoe. The NYC Remix was released in very limited quantities in New York City, while the navy blue version was created as a PE for LeBron at the 2007 All-Star Game and as a friends-and-family joint for LeBron’s inner circle (eventually making their way into the hands of hardcore collectors).
Nike Air Force 1 Low by mita sneakers and “Un-mita”
mita sneakers collaborated with Nike in 2004 to create a legendary Air Force 1 release. Nike followed it up with their own in-house production in 2006, utilizing a similar colorway and the signature “ostrich” print material.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Lunar Eclipse”
These two SB Dunks dropped in March of 2006 as exclusive to accompanying coasts. The “West” featured a grey-to-black gradient from toe to heel, while the “East” reversed it and went black-to-grey. The color-flip itself was the concept of “Lunar” at the very core, making these one of the most memorable in the Nike SB Dunk catalog.
Nike Air Max 90 “Infrared” and “Reverse Infrared”
The “Reverse Infrared” Air Max 90 was one born organically within the sneakerhead community. The historic “Infrared” Air Max 90 finally met its long-lost twin when Nike released a similar version (Crimson, not Infrared) with black and dark greys. Certainly one of the best GR releases in recent memory!
Air Jordan VIII “Aqua” and “2007 Aqua”
In 2007, Jordan Brand released another version of the “Aqua” using a white upper and added touches of the yellow and red (used as minor accents on the original Aqua). Even more “reverse” is that the flipped version was a women’s release.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Vamp” and “True Red”
These two SB Dunks releases originated from the earlier seasons of Nike SB (2003 to be exact). Both were designed independently, but could not have been more of a tit-for-tat duo.
Air Jordan XIII Low “Black/Maize” and “White/Maize”
“Home” and “Away” have always been represented with White and Black, but this set of Air Jordan XIII Retro Lows from 2005 weren’t close to Home or Away in the realm of Michael Jordan.
