Remembering the 1999 Air Jordan 4 “Oreo”

This weekend Jordan Brand is releasing the remastered version of the Air Jordan 4 “Oreo,” coming to us for the first time since its initial release back in 1999. Before the excitement of the first retro of one of the first Air Jordan non-original-colorway retro (yeah you read that right), we wanted to pay homage to the original.

10 years after they were released, 1999 was the year the Air Jordan 4 was retroed for the first time. But Jordan Brand changed it up and only released 2 of the original 4 colorways while also including 3 new Retro+ colorways. This marked the first time in Jordan history that new colorways were introduced to the retro line and could be seen as a major shift. These new colorways not only featured new colors but a different look than the original design. A major change happened on the heel where the Jumpman replaced the Nike Air logo. The signature netting was swapped out in favor of a perforated leather panel. Also the switch to using tumbled leather on the upper, even on the heel tab, rather than nubuck or smooth leather like the OGs. Also an often overlooked change was replacing the normal laces with rounded laces.

The “Oreos,” or “Cookies and Creams” as many called them, were the standout pair from the Retro+ colorways. That was due mostly to the speckled midsole and lace eyelets, borrowing the feature from the “White Cements.” The new remastered Air Jordan 4 “Oreo” looks very close to the original release (besides swapping out Tech Grey for Cool Grey) and we are glad they are finally being re-released. But lets not forget the importance of the original 1999 Air Jordan 4 Retro+ line and how the changes done to these shoes changed the path of Jordan retros.

Aaron Nojima