Jeff Staple publicly said why Nigel Sylvester's "Brick After Brick" Air Jordan 4 shouldnt have won Sneaker of the Year. The legendary designer shared his controversial take during a recent podcast interview generating significant discussion.
"How is sneaker of the year a different colour of a 30-year-old sneaker?" Staple asked.
Jeff Staple is a renowned sneaker designer best known for creating the iconic Nike SB Dunk "Pigeon." He founded Staple Design and has collaborated with tons of major brands throughout his influential career. His opinions carry lots of weight within sneaker culture and design communities.
Staple compared the situation to absurd hypotheticals challenging the award's validity and criteria overall. "Can you imagine if the car of the year is a 1984 Honda Civic in red?" he questioned sarcastically during the conversation with listeners and co-hosts alike clearly. He argued that simply changing the colorway of a classic sneaker shouldn't qualify as innovative.
"You couldn't be like, here's my 30-year-old painting, I put a red frame on it," Staple continued making his point through analogies that resonated with audiences listening live online everywhere.
The sneaker dropped last year with very high demand from both sneaker and BMX communities. Staple's comments sparked debate about what constitutes genuine innovation versus simple colorway variations in collaborations.
Jeff Staple On Nigel Sylvester
Jeff Staple making this argument publicly is definitely bold given how tight-knit sneaker culture is. Further, the "Brick After Brick" Jordan 4 is objectively just a colorway swap on a classic silhouette.
Staple's point about innovation vs recoloring is valid even if it's controversial to say. The "Pigeon" Dunk he designed was genuinely innovative with storytelling and cultural impact beyond colors.
Nigel's collaboration is clean and well-executed but doesn't push boundaries design-wise at all. This debate highlights the difference between heritage colorways and actual innovation in sneakers.
Sneaker of the Year should probably reward creativity rather than just good taste honestly. Overall Jeff Staple speaking up shows he genuinely cares about design integrity in the industry.
