10 Sneaker Trends We'd Like to See Come Back

Image via Complex Original

Used to be when you got a new pair of sneakers you'd put the old pair in the new box and wear the new ones right out of the store. Now you cop online and just open the box long enough to take a photo for Instagram. Cut it out. Get a new pair, wear them that day - heck, for the whole week. A month, even. Remember, treating your sneakers with respect means WEARING them.

Whatever happened to things like the Nike Air Raid and Reebok Battlegrounds? There are occasionally half-hearted attempts at outdoor b-ball kicks - we saw you, AJ 2010 - but no real push like there used to be. Which makes no sense. What, they paved over all of the outdoor basketball courts to make, er, more outdoor basketball courts? The XDR rubber soles on China-only models is nice, but let's see a streetball sneaker revival over here.

Bo Jackson ran. Bo Jackson lifted weights. Bo Jackson played football. And Bo Jackson did all of these things in the same sneakers. The chances that you are better than Bo at any of these things and need specialized sneakers for each is highly unlikely.

Before Michael Jordan, tennis players were the real sneaker superstars. They're the ones who got the big-money deals, they're the ones who got their names (and their faces!) on sneakers. You didn't have to follow the Grand Slam circuit to know who Stan Smith and Rod Laver were. And even into the '80s and '90s, Andre Agassi's line carried the same weight as MJ's. For whatever reason - we blame the accomplished yet bland Pete Sampras - those days are no more. Cop some Federers and fight back.

There was a time when people made it absolutely clear that they weren't using their sneakers for their intended purpose. Do up your Superstars or Clydes in fat laces, and there was no way you'd be mistaken for a basketball player. Which was the whole point. Not to mention the laces added a bit more individuality to a person's look. Not such a bad idea.

Remember when Tim Hardaway had a signature sneaker? Alonzo Mourning? Dikembe Mutombo? Chauncey Billups? If it seems like companies have gotten more stingy with the signature models of late, it's probably because they have. Kevin Johnson actually had signature shoes from TWO different sneaker companies in his career, so hey, someone like Rajon Rondo should be able to get one, right?

Back in the '80s and '90s, it seemed like every company had some sort of crazy answer to Air. Converse had Energy Wave foam AND React Juice, ASICS had Gel, adidas had any number of adjustable setups ranging from pegs to cartridges. Even L.A. Gear had the wonderfully named Catapult. It seems like there's been something of a lull since the Shox/A3/Bounce days of the early '00s. Come on, sneaker companies. Dream big.

If you filled in a calendar with sneaker release dates, you'd need to get an entirely separate calendar to keep track of everything else. Which means either companies need to release fewer sneakers (haha, right) or more models need to just pop up randomly on store shelves. Restocks and "early drops" are already helping make release dates irrelevant, let's just take it the rest of the way there.

We're not just talking about retros here -- in the neverending quest for lightweight, companies are manufacturing their performance shoes in anything but leather. Which is great for the athletes, we suppose, but not so great for casual wear. There's a reason sneakers like the adidas Superstar and Nike Blazer transitioned so seamlessly to the street, and it wasn't just that they were being worn in the NBA. Sorry, cows.

It's not that we don't appreciate having lots of choices. We do. But when you go on Foot Locker or Finish Line, and a full page of 15 or so sneakers is all just different colorways of the same model, well, that's a bit much. Isn't that why custom programs exist?