Air Jordan 4 “Fire Red” and 8 Essential “Fire Red” Retros to Add to Your Collection

From accent to all-over, 2013’s Air Jordan 4 “Toro Bravo” saw the heated hue known as Fire Red amplified in fuego fashion. Serving as a nod to the coveted Air Jordan 5 “Toro Bravo” from 2009’s “Raging Bull” Pack, this robust take on the Air Jordan 4 reconfigured a common color palette, making fire red the mainstay on the nubuck upper with cement grey, black and white taking over the tooling. Releasing around the rise of “Red October” Yeezy 2 hype, this can’t miss colorway capitalized on peripheral Kanye cache all while flipping OG Air Jordan ethos.

“Grape,” “Metallic” and “Fire Red” renditions of the Air Jordan 5 all formed like Voltron on this 2020 take. Dubbed the “Top 3” in theme, this AJ5 borrowed the blended aesthetic introduced on the Air Jordan 1 of the same surname, stacking coveted colorways in a manner more reserved than wild “What The” takes. For those keeping track at home, MJ’s road worn “Metallic” makeup covers almost the entire upper, with a “Grape” tongue and “Fire Red” accents rounding out this intrepid triple-threat.

The Air Jordan 4 “Mars Blackmon” revived the “Fire Red” favorite while spreading love to Spike Lee. Afterall, it’s the Brooklyn way. Stamping the sidewall with a silhouette of Spike’s fanatic character from She’s Gotta Have It and archival Air Jordan commercials, this retro release rekindled the flame for Day 1 MJ fans, while introducing the brand’s deep pop culture roots to a new generation.

The Air Jordan 4 “Single’s Day” is the ultimate treat yo’ self shoe, offering an over indulgence of Fire Red in leather for the ladies. Far more than meets the eye, the upper is coated in a wear-away finish, established to reveal an ornamental design over time. Black accents and gum soles make this bold Bulls motif an easy addition to any rotation, while Flight script tongue detail and Jumpman branding bring it all back to the Air Jordan 4’s hardwood heritage.

The Air Jordan 3 “Fire Red” was the first Air Jordan release to feature the sizzling shade seen in quotation marks with pairs originally hitting stores in 1988. Since repainting the palette for MJ and upping the ante on Chicago colorways, the “Fire Red” 3s have returned only twice and the 2013 take still serves as scorching. Scored by black elephant print and cool hits of grey, this retro release is based on the pair MJ wore to start the 1988-89 season, only altered aesthetically by way of Jumpman heel branding.

After numerous close-but-not-quite homages updated with stamped storytelling or crossbred with Air Force 1 tooling, the Air Jordan 4 “Fire Red” finally returned in retro form in August of 2012. Despite donning Jumpman tagging on the heel, classic aspects like mesh sidewalls, winged lacing and Flight tongue script were all featured on this tribute to the 1989 original. For fans of the Air Jordan 4, the wait for an actual “Fire Red” retro was long and these still suffice.

Celebrating its 30th Anniversary, the Air Jordan 5 “Fire Red” returned with one-to-one detailing in 2020. This Nike Air branded retro release burned bright with court cache, reviving the memory of when Mike burned the Cavs in 1990 for a career high 69 points in these simmering sneakers. 3M tongue, fire red flame and icy blue bottoms were all intact on the 2020 rendition of this Tinker Hatfield heater.

The 2020 installment of the Air Jordan 4 “Fire Red” is as close to 1989 as you’ll get without a Doc Brown driven DeLorean. Rich white leather, visible Nike Air and customizable winged lacing offer all the innovation Tinker Hatfield equipped MJ with for flight, while timeless traits like Nike Air branding, historic hang tags and archival packaging all play to the OG. At this rate, a “Fire Red” Air Jordan 4 with all those attributes only drops once a century. Get ‘em while they’re hot.