25 Sneakers Nike Should Retro ASAP

I spend a lot of time talking to people about the sneakers Nike should bring back from the ’90s – my favorite era for sneakers. I’m sure the folks out in Oregon must get sick of people coming up to them and DM’ing them about what they should retro. The heads at Nike know what they’re doing, right?

I used to think so, as I was really happy with all the retro releases about 5 years ago. But slowly, the classic retro releases started to slow down year after year. It’s to the point that we only get a few solid OG retros each year now.

For the most part, I understand why Nike has shifted away from bringing old models back. For one thing, those that do come back don’t sell particularly well. I’ve seen them sitting on shelves and online for months. Secondly, it’s actually pretty expensive to bring back a shoe if they don’t have the mold or materials or specific colors any longer. They would have to charge a high premium for all the work it would take to get the retro right, and sneakerheads probably wouldn’t pay over $200 for most retros. Thirdly, Nike is focused on the youth – those in their teens and early 20’s. Those who are the most influenced. I and a lot of other 30-to-40-year-olds were heavily influenced by Michael Jordan, Ken Griffey, Jr., Andre Agassi, and Deion Sanders growing up. The kids today care about those guys, but they don’t care nearly as much.

All that aside, I still believe Nike could bring at least 25 models back that would do really really well. I decided to make a list of these models and post them on Instagram to see what the feedback would be like for them. As you can see below, there are A LOT of people who want to see these sneakers return. So, whatever needs to be done to make this happen, let’s do it Nike. Here’s the list:

1. Air Zoom Flight Five
2. Air Jordan XII
3. Foamposite One
4. Air Zoom Citizen
5. Air Max2
6. Air Jet Flight
7. Olympic ‘Gold Medal’ AJ7
8. Air Zoom Pounce
9. Air Ship
10. Air Penny 1
11. Air Max Light III
12. Air Super Zoom
13. Run n Slam
14. Air Jordan XVII
15. Air Max 98 TL
16. Air Jordan VII ‘Cardinal’
17. Air Max Triax
18. Air Zoom Ablaze
19. Converse All Star Smooth
20. Air Jordan XVI
21. Air Zoom GP II Retro
22. Air Max Plus
23. AJXIV
24. Air Zoom Challenge II
25. Air Worm Ndestrukt