The Best Summer Sneakers for Each of the Past 25 Years

Warm-weather stunting since 1988.

Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Being a sneakerhead is a year-round job. Of course there are some times that are more important than others — the first day of school, for example. But that doesn't mean you get to take summers off. The releases may have slowed down, but that didn't make sneaker choices any less important. To the contrary, it was even more necessary to rock heat in the heat. We look back at The Best Summer Sneakers for Each of the Past 25 Years. Reminisce with us and share your personal favorites.

1988 - Nike Air Jordan III "Fire Red"

By the summer of 1988, the Tinker Hatfield designed Air Jordan III was a major part of the sneaker conversation. Kids who stunted in high school hallways with their black/cement and white/cement releases needed something new for the malls and playground courts of summer - and what better than the new Fire Red colorway of the new classic? True Blues were hot too, but white/red was an easy Bulls play, and no one moved the coolness needle like Mike in the late '80s.

1989 - Nike Air Jordan IV "White/Cement"

"108 with tax!" The white/cement Air Jordan IV was one of the original drops of the IV, releasing in February around the All-Star Game, but Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing, released on June 30th, gave the colorway second life. The "Fire Red" and "Military Blue" varieties were out by then, but you could never ever go wrong in the '80s with a Jordan colorway that Mike actually wore on the court. Just keep 'em clean.

1990 - Nike Air Max 90 "Infrared"

Air Max runners were a statement shoe from the moment the first ads ran in Sports Illustrated in 1987. Revolution indeed. And while 1987's Air Max was a no-nonsense piece of running hardware, 1990's version had a bit more flash. Even the color was more in your face. And the extra support around the exposed Airbag drew all the attention to the midsole. If you couldn't afford to push a 3-series, this was the next-best thing.

1991 - Nike Air Huarache

Four short years after he shook up the world with Air Max, Tinker Hatfield done done it again. His Huarache concept, based on both simple sandals and waterskiing booties, took the running shoe to its essence, building a low-cut neoprene bootie on a running sole with a minimal synthetic leather structure to keep things laced. Offered in a variety of flavors fresh for summer, the Huarache was everywhere.

1992 - Nike Air Jordan VII "Olympic"

The Dream Team was everything in the summer of '92, and amongst all of the Olympic-themed basketball shoes turned out by Nike, the Air Jordan VII stood alone. (Does anyone know anybody who had a pair of Ballistic Force?) The similar Air Flight Huarache was a huge shoe that summer as well, but the summer-themed Jordan was the one to have. Gold medal status.

1993 - Nike Air Raid II

The original Air Raid was a daring shoe with its cross-strapped upper and "FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY" warnings. A streetball-specific shoe? Along with Reebok's Blacktop series, the Air Raid was creating its own lane. But by the time the sequel dropped, streetball was at the forefront - thanks in part to the aforementioned shoes as well as a little movie called "White Men Can't Jump." In addition, the Air Jordan VIII utilized the Raid-style cross-straps, and Spike Lee's brilliant commercials put the shoe in every living room. Must have.

1994 - Converse Chuck Taylor All Star

High-tech shoes were all the rage for over a decade, dating to 1982 and the advent of the Nike Air Force 1. It was inevitable that a backlash would come. When it did, it arrived through the medium of music, via Seattle. Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam brought their aesthetic as well as their sound to the forefront, causing a resurgence in flannel shirts, worn-in jeans, and the venerable Converse Chuck Taylor All Star (and One Star). This built all through the early '90s, but '94 represented the crest.

1995 - Nike Air Max 95 "Neon"

Expensive? Yes. Outlandish? Absolutely. Necessary? No doubt. While consumers debated the street worthiness of the patent-leather Air Jordan XI, Sergio Lozano's Air Max took center stage. It helped that the first colorway - a dark-to-light grey gradient accented with neon green - would become the definitive one, and that the model introduced Nike's heel-to-toe Air Max to running. Previous high-priced runners didn't necessarily look expensive, the Air Max was unmistakably high-end. This was the on-foot status symbol of the mid-'90s.

1996 - Nike Air Jordan XI IE

It took a while, but the Air Jordan XI - worn by Michael Jordan starting in the 1995 NBA Playoffs - eventually took its place in the Air Jordan pantheon. The low-cut version was a different story. Not the patent lows, those came later. The first lows were the "IEs," which featured elephant print along with huge cutouts for ventilation, something of a proto-Hyperfuse. They'll never be considered on the same level as their patent big brothers, but in the summer of '96 these were an indispensable part of the uniform.

1997 - Nike Zoom Spiridon

The Nike Zoom Spiridon redefined light weight performance running. Zoom Air, first available in 1995's Zoom Flight basketball shoe joined running properly and the Michael Johnson connection gave this joint fast appeal. Summer use is obvious: The mesh upper breaths easy and the hits of 3M give it some subtle flash. While the OG foil Swoosh is preferable, the less flossy retro versions still come hard. Durability replaces slickness, without changing the tone of a classic. Meaning, essentially, later versions can work for two summers on the trot.

1998 - Air Jordan XIII

Spike Lee has a knack for turning up a Jordan model and amplifying its cultural cache. When fresh-out-the-pen Jake Shuttlesworth snags a pair of XIII in He Got Game, it reignited interest in the shoe's original colorway (released in fall of 1997) and confirmed stature as the summer's hottest sneaker.

1999 - Air Jordan IV Retro

Nike and Jordan had tried retroing shoes before, when Mike retired in 1992, but nobody seemed to care. Many of the shoes wound up on clearance racks, discounted all the way down to $19.99 - a boon to skaters, but a sharp rebuke to Nike. By 1999 though, all had changed. The re-issue (via the newly established Jordan Brand) of the white/cement and black/cement Air Jordan IVs was an immediate sellout, and if you didn't have a Jumpman with "Flight" script on your tongues that summer, you were in trouble.

2000 - Nike Presto

A shoe that comes in T-shirt sizes? Holy shit. The Nike Presto gave us minimal running before minimal running was a thing...all while redefining how consumers considered their measurements (each Presto size covered two traditional footwear sizes). The stretchy upper won for comfort, but also for its ability to take color. What other 2000-era model came out the box with internet ready nicknames?

2001 - AND1 Tai Chi

Not only did AND1 own feet in the summer of 2001 but damn near everyone that picked up a basketball that summer had the faceless trash-talking figure on their t-shirts. The Tai Chi is the single most defining sneaker of AND1's short-lived but undeniable stance at the top of sneaker culture.

2002 - Nike Air Force 1 Low "White/White"

"Give me two paaiirr!" Millions of records sold and kids all over the country wearing band-aids on their cheek couldn't be wrong. The white on white Air Force 1 is one of the most legendary sneakers of all time but thanks to MTV, BET and "Uptowns" had a huge resurgence in 2002.

2003 - Reebok S. Carter

So what if hustler's of the '80s had seen this silhouette before? The Gucci-inspired S. Carter brought proper street swagger to America's malls. The hype was strong. Jay-Z had a signature shoe. "It was a great look and opened up a lot of opportunities for artists to maximize on their brand besides just rapping," Bun B recalls. "When it dropped everybody wanted that shoe." While the series didn't thrive, the initial offering created a powerful buzz and inspired must-have thirst.

2004 - Nike Zoom Huarache 2K4

If you're talking summer time sneakers, you're talking basketball. Nothing compared to the Nike Huarche 2K4 when it came out back in '04. In fact, it was so good, it's been released as a retro already. Odds are if you hit the courts this summer and ask around, most 'heads would agree it's one of the greatest basketball sneakers ever made. If you ask us, we'd say the same.

2005 - Nike Dunk Low Pro SB "Tiffany"

Did you own Tiffany Dunk SBs in the summer of 2005? Given the low production numbers and limited outlets carrying them, its highly doubtful. But if you didn't own them, you definitely wanted them, and if you did own them, you stunted in them so hard - probably with some sort of matching tee. The Dunk SB movement started relatively quietly in 2001, but midway through the millenium's first decade it was poppin' off major.

2006 - NIKEiD

The NIKEiD program kicked off in 1999, but it took a little while to truly catch on. It was a matter of getting the options right - from colors and materials to actual models. But once people figured that they could get their very own one-of-ones - and design them, no less - it became something like a phenomenon. "Oh these? These were made custom for me." Flourish.

2007 - Nike Zoom Soldier

The release of LeBron James's first true postseason shoe (sorry, 20-5-5) happened to coincide with his first Finals appearance - and not even a sweep by the decidedly superior San Antonio Spurs could dent the unexpected marketing boon. Just four years in, LeBron was already Nike's premier sneaker salesman, no doubt in part to his $90 million deal, but also thanks to his readily apparent talent and sharply designed signature footwear. The Soldier was strapped-down and outdoor ready, perfect for summer ball. Or anything, really.

2008 - Nike Lunaracer

Much like adidas did in the '60s and '70s, Nike timed new tech to release heavy in Olympic years. 2008 was a big one, as they introduced both Lunarlon and Flywire, redefining both cushioning and support in lightweight fashion. The Hyperdunk ruled everything around it, but on the low the flyweight Lunaracer was the epitome of both techs. Where Air Max was a bold and brash tech shoe, the Lunaracer came in quietly and took everything else down. It may not have been a ubiquitous shoe, but if you had a pair that summer, you were onto something big.

2009 - Nike Air Yeezy

The craze of the Air Yeezy 1 release was well-documented, but it was the second colorway-the black/pink make-up that dropped in May of 2009 that solidified the sneaker as the it shoe for that summer. Everyone was scrambling to get a hold of one of the three colorways of Ye's creation, but the black/pink colorway was and still to this day is most coveted. Kanye wasn't dumb either, he either perfectly placed the moon sneaker in videos (http://www.upscalehype.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/kanye-west-black-pink-yeezy-3jpg.jpeg) and paparazzi shots, building the hype until it burst on release day. Want to know how impactful this colorway of the Yeezy was? Four years later it's still a lot of sneaker heads' "I-can't-wait-to-take-these-off-ice" summer pair.

2010 - Nike LeBron 8 "South Beach"

Nothing created buzz like the South Beach LeBron 8 and the summer of 2010 was filled with it. If you got a pair of these, odds are you laced them up with the quickness and took to Twitter and Facebook to stunt. You probably even wore them more times than any other shoe that year, but we can't blame you. Even after all the buzz dies down and the oft-imitated colorway fades away, the South Beach LeBron 8 is a dope shoe and changed sneakers forever.

2011 - Nike Free Run 2

The #menswear crowd rediscovered sneakers thanks, in no small part, to the Free Run 2. In the summer of 2011, the shoe was everywhere-from downtown corners to the plazas of Florence. Gary Warnett hailed the runner as an "anti-heritage modern classic." More than anything, it weaned a generation off of nostalgia and placed them in the present. The ubiquity didn't hurt, it only confirmed the power of the design.

2012 - Nike Roshe Run

In today's hype market, it's rare that a shoe without any major marketing push becomes a true force. Yet, with a friendly price tag, eye-catching colorways, and undeniable simplicity of form the Roshe Run wins. When the shoe released in March 2012, it burned slowly into consumer consciousness and caught fire by mid-summer. We named it the Best Sneaker of 2012 (So Far) in June. We were fools to drop it at year end. What's happened since...well, that only reaffirms our initial reaction. The Roshe Run is nothing short of cult classic.