When it was announced about a week back, I was losing my shit figuring out how to scrape together the dough to pick up each pair. And since reseller prices haven't been very kind, barring any miracles, I might have to let the pack slide, as much as it hurts.
The concept of the whole pack is beautiful. With the vast mix of art styles, each shoe is as much at home either in a museum or on the hardwood. Though strong collectively, some shoes have to look better than others. And with that in mind, here's how I ranked the entire pack.
I'll be honest and say that I wasn't a fan of the Kobe 3 to begin with. Designed to reflect the fury of losing to the Celtics in the finals, the abstract fresco touch may be nice, but it doesn't take away from how aesthetically displeasing the shoe is in general.
7th - Kobe Prelude VIII
Representative of the time Kobe spent off the court during his injury-shortened season. I like the upper, but the multicolored outsole just doesn't work for me.
6th - Kobe Prelude VII
Sporting a cubist look into what it's like to play for Olympic Gold, I just wish the gold colorway took more precedence. He was part of winning teams after all.
5th - Kobe Prelude I
The surreal art style is a nod to Kobe's phenomenal 81 point scoring performance in a game against the Toronto Raptors. Really nice mix with the snakeskin upper, but if the art carried over to the inner lining and footbed, that would have taken the one a couple of spots higher on this list.
4th - Kobe Prelude II
Taking from both the renaissance and the period where Kobe started showing off a refined jumper, the marble print sets this shoe off pretty well. Really digging that gold swoosh too. Probably the safest design out of the whole pack, if you ask me.
3rd - Kobe Prelude VI
Inspired by the walls of Venice Beach as well as Kobe's All-Star MVP turn on his home court, this shoe is LOUD. The details that went into the upper are things I wanna see up close, but his one might just be a little too loud for me to really work into a constant rotation. Yes, I actually wear my sneakers.
2nd - Kobe Prelude IV
Kobe's 4th NBA championship ring was won in the Kobe IV, and this tribute to American expressionism proclaims the glory of that year in a rather loud way. Had the text not been there, this would have been number 1.
I can't think of a better way to interpret just how sweet this Kobe moment was. Revenge over the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the finals was a bold move that deserves an equally bold shoe. Great pop art cues without going over the top. Easily my favorite shoe out of the entire pack.
How would you rank them? Feel free to let me know in the comments section!
the 1 is the best. the leather and materials blow out the others
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