Sneakers are cemented as a canvas for art, which is obvious by a quick perusing of this site. With that territory of being a canvas comes the opportunity to raise donations and awareness for a good cause. The Filipino team of customizers that go by KicksFlipped did such that with this pair of Air Jordan IV retros titled Fight 4 Pinas. The 1 of 1 design was recently auctioned off to help raise money to donate to the recent Typhoon Haiyan relief efforts across Southeast Asia, particularly in the Philippines.
As the reason to make the shoe was so meaningful its clear extra time and care went to making the result just as equal. Made by Alberto Lou of KicksFlipped the starting base was that of the white/cement gray AJ IV retro that undertook a complete change for completely unique look. Each part has a meaning starting with the three shades of gray on the leather upper from dark to light as a metaphor for rising up from the darkness. Next the painted blue and green map details are a recreation of the typhoon affected areas. Third the midsoles of both create the map of the area while under a black light the cities whose power was recently restored are represented by the glowing dots. Moving to the back on the heel tabs are the Philippine map and a graphic from an advertisement thanking other countries for their support. Lastly the flag of the Philippines is recreated within the Jumpman silhouette and Flight changed to Flight on each of the tongue tags.
