At the end of the 1980s, sportswear manufacturers realized they could convert prospective buyers into full-on fanatics if they presented them with the proper specs. So, in the decade that followed, brands took full advantage, making shoe designs increasingly complex. Carbon-fiber plates under your foot ensured your athletic maneuvers, if that’s what you were actually using the shoes for, were precise. Foamposite uppers ensured your metatarsals would survive the apocalypse. Casting a long shadow over the 1990s in every chamber of pop culture was Michael Jordan, the omnipresent salesman. Alongside him, though, were athletes like Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, and Shaquille O’Neal, on whom brands placed similar bets. If the ’80s were when sneaker culture began, the ’90s saw it proliferate, slowly seeping into the mainstream.