ARCHIVISTS: Release of the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4 Retro
The shoe that started it all: reminiscing about Jordan Brand's first-ever collab.
“At that point, there was no such thing as a Jordan collaboration. You know what I mean. There was no such thing as a Nike collaboration in general,” says hip-hop producer and DJ Just Blaze [the owner of three pairs] when talking about the sneaker that officially bridged Jordan Brand with a sneaker and streetwear boutique—the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4.
In 2002, Eddie Cruz and James Bond opened Undefeated’s doors in hopes of stocking rare sneakers sourced from around the world for the LA sneaker community, a void with a budding demand. “Undefeated was kind of started out of a necessity in Los Angeles,” says Bond. Since then, Undefeated has expanded on a global scale, with three stores in China and 19 stores in Japan. Along the way, the Play Dirty [a slogan used frequently by the brand] crew has collaborated with world-renowned artists and brands such as Mister Cartoon, A Bathing Ape and Nike. With over 150 sneaker collaborations, their most sought-after collaboration was with a brand that had never partnered with anyone prior—Jordan Brand.
The year was 2005 and streetwear and sneakers were making their way from the underground to the mainstream market. Boutiques around the world were popping up, becoming the go-to destination for limited and exclusive apparel and sneakers. Nike saw the opportunity and brought these worlds together with some of the best collaborations released in 2005 like Jeff Staple x Dunk Low Pro SB 'Pigeon,' Diamond Supply Co. x Dunk Low Pro SB 'Tiffany’ and Dunk Lo Id25 'Sole Collector Cowboy Special.' Undefeated was approached by Jordan Brand and given an opportunity to give their spin on the iconic Air Jordan 4. Known for their “sport is war” ethos, Undefeated dressed the Air Jordan 4 like it had never been done before. Inspired by the MA-1 flight jacket, the sneaker’s upper features olive drab nubuck finished with safety orange lining. The velcro Jumpman tongue tag features a “RARE AIR” branding.
The shoe was limited to only 72 pairs, with some released during an in-store raffle and one full size run in an online auction. The rest were given to friends and family of the brand.
Fifteen years later, the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4 is regarded as one of the best collaborations of all time. Here, collectors Just Blaze, Retrokid45 and Airmagknows recall first hearing about the sneaker, its release day, how they got the sneakers and what it means to the sneaker community today:
Just Blaze:
"I remember I happened to be in LA and one of my first stops after arriving at LAX would be to stop by Union LA and Undefeated off of La Brea. I’d always make it a point to stop by when I was in town. I’d give them a phone call to let them know I was on the way and they’d set aside a bunch of stuff for me. So, during one of those trips, they mentioned they had this Jordan [sneaker] coming out. I stopped by, picked them up and that was it. I knew I had something rare but I didn’t think anything of it. I didn’t know how many they made and I don’t think anyone knew how much they would be worth. I recently told my wife about this sneaker. (She’s not into sneakers.) But she looked up [their] value and was like, “What the hell? We had these just sitting around in the house?!”
It’s a beautiful shoe and I’m a sucker for military colorway sneakers, so it’s right up my alley. The little touches, the removable patch was cool. The “Rare Air” branding underneath. Also, the collector in me loves the rarity of the shoe. You can’t just go to a store and buy them. Back then, you had to know someone who had them. It’s kind of like the old school Lottos where you could remove the logo because it was velcro and it would come with five to six different color logos so you could match it with your outfit."
How they make you feel and how you rock them–that makes the shoe. You could have the freshest shoe ever, but if you’re wearing it all wrong, it doesn’t matter.
JUST BLAZE
"I’ve never been the one to do a Top 10 or Top 5, and I don’t have one particular sneaker that I could say is my favorite. But I will say, for sentimental reasons, my favorite sneaker of all time is the [Air] Jordan 3. That’s the first shoe, aside from shelltoes, which everyone wanted because of Run DMC, that I begged my mom to get me. We didn’t come from that money. A hundred dollars for a shoe was just not happening. She’d make sure I was fresh, but we didn’t have money like that. One of my best friends from grammar school got a pair for Christmas, so me, him and another friend, the three of us, would take turns and wear that sneaker.
This is the rarest [Air Jordan] 4 that I own. Rare doesn’t mean that it’s good, but in this case, it does because it’s a really dope shoe. But there are a lot of rare sneakers out there that are whack. I think some people get caught up in making statements like that because something is so rare, as opposed to the fact that, it’s just a great shoe.
To me, it’s more about how they make you feel and how you rock them that makes the shoe. You could have the freshest shoe ever, but if you’re wearing it all wrong, it doesn’t matter."
Retrokid45:
"I first heard about the Undefeated Air Jordan 4 from websites and message boards, specifically Niketalk. It was so novel at the time, a ‘collaboration’ between two entities, especially Jordan Brand! Undefeated has been one of my favorite shops since the very beginning in 2002. The La Brea shop was premium and so cool to me with the billboard above the store, the mural in the store and the way everything was presented. When the first images and information came out on the auction, I just knew I had to get one. There’s always shoes on your grail list, and then there’s determination to get them. I was not going to let how limited they were deter me from obtaining a pair. It’s special because of the material, the collaboration, the story, but also because the Air Jordan 4 is my favorite silhouette of all time.
I've worn it once outside, many times inside the house. Funny enough, I wore it to an event at Undefeated."
"It sounds cliched, but the whole thing is my favorite part. I love the orange accents, the shade of green on the nubuck upper, the inside 'Undefeated' tag, the removable patch on the tongue…there’s so many little details that you can tell they obsessed over in making the shoe. Not only that, the raffle tee was low key the best thing about the shoe too. It doubled as a raffle ticket, and you got a great collaboration shirt (Real Mad Hectic, Union LA, Foot Patrol, Undefeated).
I wouldn’t say it’s the best sneaker of all time, but it’s definitely in the conversation for top collaborations of all time. There’s so much about the shoe that is great, from story to materials to its rarity. So many myths around the shoe and it still holds up as a grail."
Airmagknows:
"I first heard about the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4 on Niketalk a few months before the shoe was going to come out. I was extremely excited that Undefeated was chosen for the collaboration, considering I’ve been a supporter of the store since they first opened in 2002. (Shoutout to Fred, Alex and Joy—the original Undefeated staff back then.) It sure didn’t hurt that the Air Jordan 4 was my second favorite shoe behind the Air Jordan 11."
"I definitely wore my pair multiple times. My most memorable time wearing them was participating in the Nike basketball league for the LA staff of boutique shops. The league was held at a secret Nike gym called The Point in Hollywood. I wore the Undefeated x Air Jordan 4s against the Undefeated staff and guarded Eddie Cruz. He was extremely happy to see me hooping in the shoes. We had a fun game and definitely had a few laughs about it during the game too.
My favorite part of the sneaker is the Undefeated branding behind the tongue. It was just so surreal to see that it was an actual collaboration and not just a colorway. It was clearly an Undefeated shoe."
"A lot of people say this is the greatest sneaker of all time. I don’t know about that. I don’t think it’s the greatest sneaker of all time, but I do give credit to the Undefeated 4 for raising the bar of the sneaker culture—for both the consumers and the brands. For brands, we’ve seen countless collaborations with multiple sneaker brands and stores. Take the Dior x Air Jordan collaboration, that would not have happened without the response that the Undefeated 4 created in the sneaker industry. And for the consumers, there used to be a line that existed between the mall sneaker shopper and boutique sneaker shopper—the Undefeated 4 definitely had a lot of mall shoppers crossing over to support local sneaker boutiques and looking to buy sneakers that aren’t available at the mall. It spawned a hunt for more exclusive sneakers or colorways that you wouldn’t find in your local mall retailers."
FOREWORD: ART DERECHO