by Brendan Dunne
Images by Liz Barclay
The Air Jordan 7 'French Blue' released this past weekend present an interesting problem for the remastered approach to Air Jordan retros.
In the case of colorways that aren't original, should Jordan Brand try to make the sneakers as close to OG pairs as possible, or as close to the Retro+ drops that they're based on? The brand landed somewhere in between with this pair, which is a faithful recreation that has some details to nitpick over. A comparison of the slight color differences is absent, as it's tough to tell whether the lighter colors on the original pair are due to aging. Sole Collector's latest Retrograde episode below also highlights the differences between the 2002 and 2015 'French Blue' 7s, but for some additional eye candy, see this photo set breaking things down.
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The badges on the back of the two pairs differ slightly in size. This detail isn't entirely uniform across pairs, but there is a marked difference between the two. Above left is the 2002 pair, above right is the 2015 pair with the smaller badge.
The ankle-area Jumpman logos are a close match in terms of detail. With that being said, the 2015's logo, left, is slightly smaller than the 2002 pair's on the right.
The 2002 'French Blue' Jordan 7 is more committed to the tumbled leather look. The above shot shows the inside collar donning this look, but the 2015 pair switches the more standard smooth leather in that area.
The biggest differences come in the tongue area. Above is the 2002 'French Blue' Jordan 7, which has a dark blue strip that connects the tongue to a tumbled leather bootie piece that runs below the laces.
The 2015 'French Blue' Jordan 7 features a white strip instead, along with a Huarache style neoprene bootie. This could be a throwback to the original 1992 build of the Jordan 7 though–the 2002 'French Blue' pair was the only one to use the leather bootie.
The mountain pieces on the midsoles differ between the two pairs. The 2002 'French Blue' Jordan 7s, above right, have a matte finish on these pieces. The 2015 'French Blue' Jordan 7, above left, has a shinier finish on its midsole pieces.