Most people associate the color purple with royalty, rebellion, and, of course, Prince dancing in a rainstorm wearing a “blouse” and a guitar. Now, Jordan Brand is dipping back into the purple paint bucket for a fresh colourway: the Air Jordan 4 “Imperial Purple”, set to release in Spring 2026. And no, this isn’t just about making doves cry. This one’s about turning heads.
It’s been 36 years since Michael Jordan first rocked the first Air Jordan 4 sneakers. Since then, the silhouette has been painted in virtually every colourway. But, just one look at this pair and it’s easy to see why the Air Jordan 4 “Imperial Purple” is a little different.
Sneaker Market Romania broke the news with mock-ups on X, and House of Heat followed with a speculative mock-up of their own. Of course, fans didn’t hold back. “These are sorta tough,” one user wrote under House of Heat’s X post. Another chimed in: “If those pics are the actual colorway, these are going to be a problem.” And by “problem,” they definitely mean a good one. Someone else simply said: “100% will cop.”
No subtle hype here. This drop is already getting more engagement than some of the other colorways releasing this year.
While Jordan Brand hasn’t confirmed the final design, these mockups show a few variations, some leaning heavier on the Imperial Purple, others balancing it with Lakers gold (which, of course, makes the whole “tribute to L.A.” angle even cooler). Whether this ends up being a Lakers-style sneaker or something totally left field, the purple wave is real.
Historically, purple has always been a colour that made people feel something. Andy Warhol used it to elevate his subjects to pop culture deity status. Prince literally owned it. And now, with the Air Jordan 4 “Imperial Purple”, it looks like Jordan Brand is taking a shot at making the AJ4 the next purple icon.
If you’d like to see other purple Prince-inspired sneakers, check out: Prince’s Air Jordan 11 “Purple Rain” Costs $100,000, Air Jordan 11 ‘Purple Rain’, Purple Rain x Air Jordan 1, and A Ma Maniére x Jordan 12 Purple Rain.
