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You know the saying, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Bullshit. The truth is, sometimes you can tell if someone is paying homage in a respectful way or if they are just trying to bite because they lack their own creative initiative. The people that do it in a tasteful way still make a quality product, even if the original concept isn't anything new. The others, well, they're just out to make a buck off someone else's hard work. Lames.
With that said, the Air Jordan line has had some timeless sneaker designs over the years. Which leaves room for the imitators, both in the good form and the bad. Since all the way back in 1985, Jordans have been mimicked. Hell, Nike and Gatorade told us to be like Mike. It's no wonder why all these sneaker brands tried to be like him too. Check out 13 Sneakers That Were Inspired by Air Jordans—we'll leave it up to you to decide which of these "inspired" creations falls in the lame category.
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Pivot MJ 2.5
Inspired By: Air Jordan II
Japanese brand Pivot created this high-end sneaker in 2011 and there is no mistaking that it resembles the Air Jordan II. Not only that, the name of the shoe is the MJ 2.5. With a $530 price tag, we can only imagine this is about what it would be like if Jordan brand actually gave the Jordan II a proper Italian made retro. What's good, JB?
Starbury ST-004
Inspired By: Air Jordan XII
Apparently Starbury is able to keep prices so low by naming a Xerox machine their design director. At least this casual Air Jordan XII knockoff makes more sense than the LeBron VI-based performance shoe.
Stadia by Kinney
Inspired By: Air Jordan I
When the original Air Jordan released and sold like wildfire, nearly every sneaker company large and small scrambled to duplicate the results by knocking off the sneaker. For those who didn't have a $65 budget and didn't care what was on the sides, this was a boon. For kids expecing new Air Jordans and receiving these, this was a massive disappointment. Ironically, today it's probably more difficult to find a pair of these than it is to find a pair of original Jordans. Who keeps knockoffs deadstock?
Greedy Genius Apache Onyx
Inspired By: Air Jordan V
When you get into hybrids and such, it becomes a case of who copied who? The Air Jordan V cues on the Greedy Genius Apache Onyx are easy enough to point out-but the overall shoe looks more like the Jordan Sixty Plus, which didn't release until the following year. So confusing.
Supra Ellington Avenger
Inspired By: Air Jordan IV
The Supra Avenger was more or less the same as the Cruizer, mixing elements of the Air Jordan IV and V (along with taking midsole cues from the Tech Challenge II via the Air Yeezy) in a fashion that should have looked awfully familiar to sneakerheads and sneaker-aware skaters.
Fubu
Inspired By: Air Jordan Spiz'ike
FUBU is not known for their subtlety.
Gourmet
Inspired By: Air Jordan XI
The idea was perfect-take existing Air Jordan designs, render them in tonal canvas, and sit them on top of ultra-simple midsoles. Gourmet must have known the good times couldn't last, as they named their first Jordan-esque releases (based on the XI and the VII) the "Cease" and the "Desisto," and, well, they didn't. But they still had time to do XII- and XIII-based models, as well as a kind of shrouded X.
DC Shoes Williams
Inspired By: Air Jordan XII
Yes, skaters wear Jordans-and they've been wearing Jordans more or less as long as there have BEEN Jordans. So when a skater gets a chance to do his (or her) own signature shoe, it's no surprise that they turn to the Air Jordan line for some design inspiration. Stevie Williams was no exception.
LA Gear MVP
Inspired By: Air Jordan IV
LA Gear's MVP was the poor man's Jordan. $100 price tags weren't accepted by most parents in the '90s, so the next best thing for a kid with a $30 annual sneaker budget meant these would have to do. Not that we would have any experience like that or anything.
Bally Rener
Inspired By: Air Jordan V
How is it possible to have "inspired" sneakers that cost 5 times or more the cost of the sneakers they were inspired by? Easy, Bally of Switzerland uses some seriously high end materials. These never caught on in the sneaker world but you could think of them as the rich man's Bin 23 V.
Supra Cruizer
Inspired By: Air Jordan V
It is perhaps worth noting that Supra produced the Air Jordan V inspired Cruizer in a "black Grape" colorway back in 2009. They also did a more traditional Grape colorway along with a white/black/red and an "UNDFTD" olive and orange. When you're doing a Jordanesque look, best go with the colors you know work.
eS SLB Mid
Inspired By: Air Jordan IX
Sal Barbier's SLB represented a huge technical step forward for skate shoes by simply copying what basketball sneakers already had. The SLB was clearly based off of the Air Jordan IX right down to the inner bootie - little surprise for someone whose most well-known sneaker features a "23" on the heel.
Pony City Wings
Inspired By: Air Jordan I
The Pony City Wings is the best of the "inspired" designs for one reason. They were worn by Spud Webb to win the Slam Dunk Contest. No other sneaker on the list actually had a name or performance behind it to give it any sort of legitimacy.
