Welcome back to our Wednesday’s legit check edition, today we’ll be learning how to quickly identify the Fake Air Jordan 4 Lakers Imperial Purple. This is a new colorway that was introduced and certainly highly coveted by both sneaker heads and consequently counterfeiters. Once again, we’ll heavily on Jacob Marcellus’ side by side comparison to spot the differences. Areas of our focus will include the back, midsole, tongue, insole, outsole and more. So grab your shoes and let’s get started.
How To Tell If Your Air Jordan 4 Lakers Imperial Purple Is Fake?
Back
- Yellow tone on the NIKE AIR: the authentic pair’s yellow reads brighter and cleaner (more “lemon/gold”), while the fake leans warmer and duller (more “mustard”).
- Logo sizing/scale: the NIKE AIR print on the real does appear slightly larger and more open, while the fake looks a touch smaller/tighter.
Tongue
The fake Jordan Imperial Purple pair’s Jumpman leans warmer and duller (more mustard/golden yellow), while the real pair’s Jumpman is brighter and cleaner (more lemon-yellow), see red rectangles.
Caging ( Tongue Extension)
On the fake pair, the tongue netting is heavier and sits too low, nearly touching the edge of the purple panel. On the authentic pair, the netting is finer and leaves a small, consistent margin before the seam, see red rectangles
- Tongue Jumpman color: confirmed again here — the fake Jumpman reads warmer/more mustard, while the authentic is brighter and more lemon-yellow, see red arrows.
Midsole
“On the fake air Jordan 4 Lakers pair, the grey midsole edge has an exaggerated raised lip, making the rubber look overbuilt and overly protruding. The authentic pair has a flatter, cleaner edge with a smoother transition line, giving the midsole a more streamlined profile.”( see red arrows).
Insole ( Front)
- Insole color: the real insole looks a touch brighter/more saturated yellow, while the fake leans slightly duller or warmer in tone.
- NIKE AIR print: the real print does read a bit larger and bolder (thicker strokes on the swoosh and letters). The fake looks slightly smaller/tighter.( see red circles)
- Insole width/cut: the real insole appears a little wider through the heel/waist, with a fuller perimeter. The fake looks slightly narrower and more tapered.
- Size sticker: you can also see how the #12 is of larger font on the real insole, and the Men’s size text has a bolder font on the fakes, see red arrows.
Insole ( Back)
Flip the insoles over and the differences are obvious: the authentic insole is cut wider and has a glossier finish, while the fake is narrower and more matte. The DREAMCELL stamp on the real is also deeper and cleaner, with sharper, more legible characters; the fake embossing is shallow and blurry, making the codes harder to read.
Outsole
The real outsole uses a lighter, cooler grey with an icy-blue tint, while the fake outsole skews darker and warmer—closer to slate/charcoal. ( see red circles)
Box
- Box shade: the fake box reads a touch darker/warmer off-white, while the real looks a bit cleaner/brighter white.
- Hidden Jordan face graphic: the face pattern is more obvious on the fake (stronger contrast in the horizontal line texture), while on the real it’s more subtle and “ghosted,” so it blends in and looks more concealed.
There you have it folks, hopefully you’ll be able to spot the Fake air Jordan 4 Lakers Imperial Purple with these tips. I’ll update the post as soon I come across more detailed tips to look for, stay tuned and check the post regularly.
I’ll also invite you to check my authentication post on the Air Jordan 6 Black Infrared and Jordan 5 Wolf Grey as both pairs were released not long ago and fakes of both have flooded the market.
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Where To Buy Legitimate Pairs
You can purchase legitimate pairs on eBay from our featured sellers via authenticity guaranteed. You may also purchase them via StockX below retail
Quick recap: Air Jordan 4 Lakers “Imperial Purple” real vs fake
- Heel logo color: the yellow on the real NIKE AIR is brighter and cleaner (lemon/gold), while the fake is warmer and duller (mustard).
- Heel logo sizing: the NIKE AIR print looks slightly larger and more open on the real; the fake looks a touch smaller/tighter with softer edges.
- Tongue Jumpman color: real tongue Jumpman is brighter lemon-yellow; fake leans mustard/golden.
- Tongue netting: fake tongue grid lines are thicker and more blocky, and the netting sits too low (nearly touching the purple edge). Real netting is finer and leaves a small margin before the seam.
- Midsole midsection edge: fake has an exaggerated raised lip/overhang, so the grey midsole edge looks more protruding and bulky. Real edge is flatter and transitions more smoothly.
- Insoles (top): the real insole yellow is slightly brighter, the NIKE AIR print reads a bit larger/bolder, and the insole cut is slightly wider. The fake is a touch duller with a tighter/smaller print and a narrower outline.
- Insoles (back): the authentic insole is wider and has a glossier finish. The DREAMCELL emboss is deeper and cleaner on the real; the fake emboss is shallow, faint, and harder to read.
- Outsole forefoot grey: the real outsole uses a lighter, cooler “icy” grey with a slight blue cast; the fake is darker and warmer, closer to slate/charcoal.
- Box top: the box shade isn’t identical—fake looks slightly darker/warmer, and the hidden Jordan face graphic is more visible/high-contrast on the fake, while it’s more subtle and concealed on the real.
