The Kaws x Jordan IV Will Be The Biggest Shoe Of 2017

The thirst for the Kaws x Jordan IV is real. From sneakerheads to art collectors to old-school Original Fake fans to your local neighborhood hypebeast, everyone's got to have a pair, $350 box price be damned. Every little piece of new information about the shoes (which are set to drop late March ... there's no official release date just yet) has been slobbered over by the general sneaker community, and the hype is so real that even though we're barely more than a quarter of the way through the year, we're just about ready to go ahead and label them the biggest shoe of 2017.

"The biggest shoe of 2017? Bigger than Yeezys? Bigger than (insert rare collaborative NMD here"? Yes, the biggest shoe of 2017 ... and there's no need to get your three stripes tied in a knot just yet, we've got solid reasons to back up this bold opinion too. Check them out below.

Kaws has been at the forefront of street culture for more than a decade, so he's never really "gone" anywhere, but his work seems to have found a new cult following with the younger generation the last few years between collaborations with Uniqlo on an affordable line of tees and accessories, a heavily-discussed career retrospective exhibit that ended last month at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, some easy-to-cop Companion figures (one of which is pictured above) that are now sold out of course, and the cover of Hypebeast Magazine issue #16. In today's street culture world, you're only as good as your last hot project ... but Kaws has managed to remain extremely hot for the past year-plus, which bodes well for the hype around this release.

If you're new to the world of KAWS, you may not know that he's got an incredibly impressive track record when it comes to collaborating on sneakers. He's done everything from the Air Force I's pictured above to Bapestas and Vans Chukkas, all of which are still highly sought-after today. In fact, his body of work when it comes to footwear over the past decade-plus reads like a greatest hits list. It would be simply foolish to bet against him at this point. 

Let's be frank here: when was the last time anyone really cared about any Jordan apparel? If you answered "when they collabbed with Supreme", give yourself a pat on the back and ten brownie points (which can't be redeemed for anything at Piff, sorry). The co-branded hoodie and hat that hit the net earlier this week have everyone going nuts (seemingly almost as much as the shoes), and people are even fawning over the print on the box. You can't say the hype isn't real.

So doubt if you will, but when the end-of-year lists start dropping in December and everyone's crowning these shoes as the most hyped release of the year, don't act like you didn't see it here first. We haven't been wrong on a prediction yet!

 

What do you think of the Kaws Jordan IV's? Do you think they'll be the most hyped release of the year, or will something else swoop in and take the crown? Hit us up and let us know on Twitter, check our Facebook page for updates, and, as always, be sure to follow us on Instagram for all the fire pictures you can handle.