10 Times Sneakers Cosplayed As Other Sneakers
PublishedQuick Facts
- Sneakers imitating other sneakers is not an uncommon practice
- The design of both sneakers have to be similar enough to make the homage work
If there’s one thing you can never accuse the sneaker world of, it’s forgetting the past. Looking forward is encouraged and should be celebrated more often because this is where the greatest risks are taken and new sneaker classics are born. However, the power of the retro still holds a lot of weight and sales figures.
For all the talk on social media or the more traditional outlets about brands failing to bring new energy to the space, they are also the quickest to have selective memory. When Nigel Sylvester drops a clay red Air Jordan 4 and it’s declared the best sneaker of 2025 when actual new sneakers like the adidas Jellyfish, Nike Vomero Premium, or the Converse Shai 001 exist, it reinforces the belief that nothing new can break through and recycling ideas is the way to go.
The desire to cling to the past is particularly evident when brands believe something that worked on one sneaker can work on another. When sneakers cosplay as other sneakers, the results can vary from fitting homage to creative bankruptcy. In honor of it being Halloween and all, here’s a look at some of the more notable examples of sneakers wearing costumes over the years.
The “LeBron Watch” Program Travels Back in Time (2018)
LeBron James has made no secret about his love for Nike’s past and has exhibited no shame in scouring the archives to find inspiration for colorways of his signature sneakers. Some might say it’s shilling on LeBron’s part, but a more generous read would be Nike knows how to bait their fanbase with nostalgia better than any other sneaker brand in the world. In 2018, Nike introduced the LeBron Watch where people had the chance to buy special editions of the Nike LeBron 15 that James was wearing that night on the SNKRS app. These player exclusives were tributes to classics from the past including the Nike Air Max 95, the Nike Air Griffey 1 Max, the Nike ACG Air Mowabb, and more. The timing of the promotion was also critical for LeBron’s line as it was going through a lull during his second stint in Cleveland.
The spirit of LeBron Watch - sans the rush to buy on SNKRS app - would be a semi-ongoing concern in the preceding years with the best example being the Nike LeBron 21 Prime that reimagines the 21 with features from both Deion Sanders’ signature Diamond Turf 1 and DT Max 96.
Kyrie and KD’s Sneaker Team-Up Succeeds Where Brooklyn Failed (2021, 2025)
When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving departed their respective championship winning/contending teams to attempt to build another juggernaut in Brooklyn, sneakerheads were pumped for the possibility for a collaboration between the two Nike signature athletes. Nike probably would have preferred it if KD and Kai had forced their way to the other NBA team in New York so the partnership would have been more impactful, but history was made regardless. The Ky-D collaboration featured a handful of signature Kyries and KDs that featured callbacks to each other’s career achievements, but the two standout pairs were the Nike Kyrie 7 “Weatherman” that took on the Nike KD 4 classic while the Nike KD 14 “Dream” brought back the very first Nike Kyrie 1 colorway.
Years later in Dallas, Kyrie would once again celebrate a teammate and brand mate’s signature line with the ANTA Kai 2 “Klay.” Named after fellow Maverick and ANTA athlete Klay Thompson, the “Klay” colorway borrows the themes of the ANTA KT7 “Pure Water” for a light blue and gold finish that brings to mind Klay’s shooting exploits.
Reebok and adidas Scratch the Surface Before Parting Ways (2019-2021)
For a little over 15 years, Reebok and adidas failed to combine their powers as a sort of Sneaker Voltron to take on the Nike/Jordan behemoth. Whether structural or legal forces prohibited the two companies from working together more often while merged, the sneaker community was denied a number of dream sneaker team-ups that many would have thought impossible in the 90s. It wasn’t until adidas expressed an interest in selling Reebok did the two companies finally get together to honor Reebok’s past and adidas’ present. Dubbed the OG Meets OG Collection, the first product from the project merged adidas’ Boost technology with Reebok’s Instapump Fury for a hybrid sneaker that utilized iconic colorways from both franchises. When both brands’ basketball divisions got in on the fun, it was more of a palette swap situation where we got the Reebok Shaqnosis and Question based on adidas’ Damian Lillard and James Harden respectively while the adidas Dame 7 and Harden Vol. 4 paid tribute to Reebok President and Vice President of Basketball Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson.
The Other Galaxy Foamposite (2012)
In 2012, Nike Basketball’s space-themed All-Star sneakers would dramatically alter the sneaker landscape forever. Headlined by the Nike Air Foamposite One Galaxy, the release of the pack would launch a million stories on mainstream media about the rising popularity of sneaker culture and the lengths that people will go to acquire them. Later that year, Nike would outfit the Nike Zoom Rookie - a Penny Hardaway-inspired hybrid sneaker - with the same Galaxy theme in two flavors: a wider release with black pods, and a rarer version with glow-in-the-dark pods. Not surprisingly, both pairs sold out immediately and gained cult classic status as the Galaxy Foamposite became an era-defining sneaker.
Sean Wotherspoon Crosses Streams with Nike and ASICS (2020)
Sean Wotherspoon could go on to design sneakers with every major brand and reach heights that no one could have ever predicted, but if you ask most people in the sneaker world what he’ll be remembered for, it’s going to be the Nike Air Max 1/97. Draped in multicolor corduroy, the hybrid Air Max dropped on Air Max Day 2018 and was immediately dubbed a grail by the sneaker community. Corduroy would go on to become a signature feature of Wotherspoon’s future work as projects with BAPE, ASICS, and adidas would tap into the energy of the Air Max 1/97. The example that a lot of people were pointing out at the time that maybe flew a little too close to the sun was his ASICS Gel-Lyte III collaboration with iconic retailer atmos. Claiming to be inspired by Los Angeles and Tokyo, the use of corduroy with colors that overlap Air Max 1/97 raised some eyebrows in 2020, but let’s be honest, we were too worried about a lot of other things during that time to care about sneakers looking like other sneakers.
Nike’s All-Red October Everything Phase (2014-2016)
No, Kanye West did not create the all-red sneaker. Making such a claim would be disrespectful to a number of people who have donned footwear that was either all-red or overwhelmingly red, like Dorothy or Astro Boy or Scottie Pippen in the 1994 NBA All-Star Game. But when the Nike Air Yeezy 2 Red October dropped on a Sunday morning when plenty of people were at church, it unlocked something in the sneaker world. It was as if red sneakers were no longer taboo or too loud for ordinary non-hypebeast people to wear and brands proceeded to make their Red Octobers.
Nike would also capitalize on the trend with their sneakers, but unlike Sean Wotherspoon, they were the sun. The most notable Red October-adjacent sneakers from Nike include the Nike Dunk High PRM, the Air Trainer Cruz, and a number of options for the NIKEiD edition of the Nike Kyrie 6 that let you basically recreate almost the entire run of Nike Yeezys.
That Time the Air Jordan 6 and Air Jordan 7 Did a Freaky Friday (2021-2023)
Through the overwhelming volume of releases, Jordan Brand has conditioned us to expect that some themes will just carry over to every sneaker in their catalog. That’s why nobody will bat an eye if they see Cool Grey on an Air Jordan 1 or if the latest model uses elephant print. However, this is not a rule that is set in stone because there have been times when Jordan Brand will apply a classic colorway to another sneaker and the result, while not necessarily wrong, is slightly off-putting. In 2021, we got an Air Jordan 6 that borrowed the Air Jordan 7’s signature Bordeaux colorway and a few years later, the favor was returned when the Air Jordan 7 got the Infrared treatment. The tonal similarity between the 6 and the 7 is likely what made the decision easy for Jordan Brand, but the tepid response from the sneaker community will probably make them hesitant to pursue an Air Jordan 4 Grape or an Air Jordan 9 Aqua in the future.
atmos and adidas Take a Step Back (Positive) (2025)
Since its debut in 1989, adidas’ ZX line of runners has gone on to become one of the brand’s most successful sneaker franchises. From its iconic look to the still-relevant Torsion system, every few years the Three Stripes will show love to the ZX line with special editions and collaborations that harken back to their OG roots. As part of atmos’ enduring run with the ZX 8000, they recently released their 11th edition, a colorway swap taken directly from the OG ZX 9000. Unfortunately for those of us stateside, the G-SNK 11 was a Japan-exclusive, which means you’re gonna have to do some legwork to acquire these kicks. If going that extra mile is not in the cards, a 2021 Ultra Boost 1.0 DNA also pays homage to the ZX 9000 and retains much of the energy that made the OG such a classic.
The Nike Book 1 is a Peek Into Nike’s History (2023-now)
To show you how much sneaker culture has evolved in the past several years, look no further than the internet’s reaction to Devin Booker’s signature shoe debut and his various player exclusives that were tributes to classic Nike silhouettes and compare it to when LeBron Watch was at its peak back in 2018. Every pair during the LeBron Watch felt like an event because you never knew what was coming next. When Booker would debut Book 1s that mimicked the Nike Air Max 95 Neon or the Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard or the Nike Cortez, there was no Book Club celebrating their arrivals. The complaints ranged from Nike and Booker shamelessly using the past to pump up the Book 1 instead of creating interesting original colorways to those who do like the PEs lamenting their inability to buy them. It should be noted that several of Book’s PEs eventually got retail releases, but the extended time from the reveal to the eventual drop may have turned off a lot of potential consumers.
Air Jordan 40, Meet the Air Jordan 1, the Air Jordan 16, the Air Jordan 23, etc. (2025)
Every few years, Jordan Brand manages to turn back the clock with its latest Air Jordan model. It’s never the same as when a hyped retro might release, but a combination of solid design and appealing colorways will get people interested enough to buy a new pair and not wait for it to hit the Nike outlets. The Air Jordan 40 has become the latest example of this rare phenomenon thanks to its experimental nature where every new release uses different materials that highlight the silhouette’s versatility. Following in the success of The Classic and Blue Suede drops is the next phase that reimagines the Air Jordan 40 as if they had been released in 1985 as the Air Jordan 1 or in 2008 as the Air Jordan 23. As interesting as those tributes may be, no one is going to mistake them for their inspiration. The Air Jordan 4016, however, is a different story. From the use of pebbled leather on the removable shroud to the pitch-perfect color blocking and the proper shade of midnight navy, it’s an Air Jordan 16 in every way but the 25-year age gap. There's also the Air Jordan 4023, which borrows directly from the original Air Jordan 23 colorway.
From video game journalism to veteran of the sneaker blog era to podcasting about well, everything, Juan is smiling through it all and can't believe this is his life. After recently getting into Formula 1, he now has hot takes about who the greatest driver of all time is. Email: juan@soleretriever.com
