BRIEF: Reebok debuts “Crossing Guard” and “Crossover” Q96

by Sandy Dover for Baller Mind Frame of Complex Media

The Reebok Question is easily one of the greatest basketball shoes ever designed and produced. Though the shoe itself was a direct competitor to the sneaker competition of its day and somewhat an anti-Air Jordan even as Michael Jordan himself was exiting the game (as a Chicago Bull, at least), it was behind the design as a performer.

Somewhat heavy even for a guard in 1996 while using a technology that was already beyond its heyday, The Question was enough of a cultural beacon to attract people to acquire the footwear – however, with the Reebok Q96, performance is now at the forefront of reimagining the classic sneaker. …

COMMENTARY: Reebok Basketball Debuts The Q96 and Pumpspective Omni

Retroactive shoes can be a bit of a wild card, particularly the ones that attempt to combine elements of past models with new design concepts. Not always a winning situation. However, surprisingly, Reebok has made a couple of winners in their new models that revisit the past — the Q96 and the Pumpspective Omni.

Starting with the Q96, it’s a great example of translating a classic retro model into something fresh, without stomping all over its defining characteristics. Unlike so-called “new retros”, the Q96 takes what is most iconic from The Question, carries those over, and then expounds on those characteristics with other attributes that can actually be useful for it as a performance shoe. All Reebok needed to do was keep the toe cap, the branded eyelets and maintain the silhouette. They did, and the Q96 looks beautiful. It’s not necessary the classic that The Question is, but it’s fresh and it actually gives the original shoe more life in the process.

In the case of the Pumpspective Omni, it has a similar case to the Q96 — iconic color scheme, maintenance of an important design line, and the famous Pump basketball tongue. It’s a bit removed from the original Pump Omni, but seeing as to how it’s 22 years removed from the original, the new Omni was due for something a little more dynamic.

The new Omni is something of a reintroduction to the world for Reebok Basketball, something more focused with simple, yet discernible performance characteristics that consumers will actually appreciate and gravitate toward; it also have the same kind of retro flavor in its design that people would move toward, even if playing ball isn’t in their cards.

The bottom line? If the Omni and the Q96 are the future for Reebok Basketball, expect good things in the brand’s future. Even without going to0 far into innovation, these shoes have quality design, and based on that alone, Reebok will be received again by the masses with open arms.

Photos courtesy of Reebok

COMMENTARY: Reebok Classic The Question – “Draft Day”

The 1996 NBA Draft is one of the most heralded moments in the history of the league. So many great players who have now become future Hall of Famers were selected that year, but none more controversial or as purely talented as Allen Iverson, the famed combo guard that became world-famous as a Philadelphia 76er.

Going along with the theme of that particular Draft Day, Reebok has commemorated his special day (and his retirement) with the “Draft Day” edition of his very first signature, The Question.

From an aesthetic standpoint, this version may be the most impressive and coincidentally, the most likely shoe to be worn in a Sixers uniforms. Where the DD edition impresses with great success is in its use of premium quality and color pop. It’s not a shoe that’s shiny and glossy; it uses high-quality suede and a true blue to exalt its design. White and red are used expertly on The Question as accent, and it can be worn in any kind of traditional or non-traditional way.

It’s just a great sneaker, and an honorable way for The Question to be retro-released.

–SD

Photos and release courtesy of Reebok:

In one of the deepest drafts in NBA history, a 6-foot guard from Georgetown rose to the top of his class in ’96. 

 

 

Despite the high expectations that would follow, Allen Iverson’s rookie of the year performance proved he was worthy of the #1 selection.   

 

 

Reebok Classic honors this historic moment with a fresh treatment on Allen Iverson’s signature rookie year model, the Question Mid #1 Draft Pick.  

 

Featuring a blue suede upper and speckled white mid-sole, the Question Mid #1 Draft Pick pays tribute to Iverson’s career in Philadelphia with a nostalgic royal/white/red treatment reminiscent of the ‘90s Sixers uniforms.  

 

 

The customary “3” that adorned the Question Mid during Iverson’s rookie year is replaced with number “1” to commemorate the Sixers selection of the Georgetown guard.

FEATURE: TSL Co-Sign – The Reebok Question and Answer IV

by Sandy Dover for The Shadow League

Even after a full three years away from the game, Allen Iverson still gets questions. When is he coming back? When will he retire? When will we see him next? They won’t end until he comes back with answers, but there is one Question and one Answer that he’s willing to give back to the people—literally.

On Friday, March 8th, Reebok and Allen Iverson will be re-introducing his famed initial sneaker, The Question, and its near equal in the Answer IV. Smartly, they aren’t limited, both shoes will be available at the major chains such as Foot Locker, The Finish Line, Footaction, Eastbay, Champs, Reebok, and Shoe City (have your buck-twenty-five ready—that’s a Ben Franklin, by the way).

But that’s not the whole reason for the spotlight.

…

Feature: Questionable Swag… The Reebok Question

By Sandy Dover for CounterKicks

“I understood that covering the Reebok Classics event at PROJECT in Vegas meant that I might have some access to a few goodies, but I was overjoyed to find a bag of Reebok’s The Question in white/pearlized red waiting on my bed! Though, Allen Iverson himself wore a player exclusive suede version in 1996-97 with accent blue trim, the original retail version of the white/pearlized red/blue Question Mid was only available in Philadelphia, Cleveland, New York, and a few other select cities, and was sold in limited numbers, making the legend of his PE and the initial retail versions a unique kind of Holy Grail for collectors and aficionados. Having missed out on the hyped re-release of A.I.’s first signature shoe this past spring (they were released in the basic white/pearlized red — no blue trim — years ago), I was excited to finally have what I’ve long been missing.”

Link: http://counterkicks.com/2012/08/questionable-swag-that-happens-in-vegas-leaves-vegas/

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