Nike VP of Creative Design Tinker Hatfield may be best known for his work with the Air Jordan, but he’s responsible for so much more. Air Max? His. The entire concept of cross-training? Yes. He also came up with something called Huarache, a line (a cross-trainer, a runner and a basketball shoe) of minimalistic ultra-lightweight sneakers.
The reason I bring this up now is that the Air Jordan VII was imbued with Huarache DNA (they came out around the same time). The sleekest and most slimmed-down Air Jordan yet, the VII shared the Huarache’s minimalist upper and lack of a Visible Air bubble (the first Air Jordan to not have Visible Air since the II).
And while the VII might be best remembered for its ad campaign (featuring a certain wascally wabbit), it should be remembered as the most successful on-court shoe Michael Jordan ever wore. Another NBA championship and an Olympic Gold medal with the Dream Team. The lightweight shoe was a heavyweight on the court.
