With the demise of the Jordan brand upon us, the faithful Jordan heads must hold onto the mere morsels of fresh that still remain. In my humble, the last few years have seen the brand scrambling for an identity, amongst too many retros and uninspired design. Not to mention, within the past five years, many of us also grew up, and realized we can’t wear basketball shoes to every occasion anymore.
Nonetheless, 2012 will see the release of one of the brand’s most celebrated designs in the form of the Air Jordan IV. Originally released in 1989 the Jordan IV introduced Nike’s iconic “Flight” logo to the world, while also providing MJ with the footwear to hit “The Shot“. Designed by the formidable Tinker Hattfield, rumor has it that the IV’s are set to drop on February 18th. I know someone’s juiced.
I’m not saying sneakers aren’t cool anymore, but in hindsight, their functionality off the hoop court is a bit limited. I know I’m not the only one who’s begun to make the transition from sneakers into casual footwear. At the end of the day, I’d rather be rocking the same kicks with 10 fits than 1 kick with 1 fit. It also save cents, so it makes sense.
Riding the wave of the casual footwear renaissance, Twins For Peace has recently released their Summer collection. Featuring bold colors with simple lining, I could easily see these on Twill’s feet come August. Even better, for each pair sold, Twins will donate a pair of shoes to a child in need. Now that’s winning. Available here.
There’s new shit to blog about every single day. And some things are just cooler than others. In the process of browsing the daily selection, sometimes you get some pretty pictures. Other times you get a quality slap, or a funny video. And then some days, you get a new Nike commercial full of Kobe’s career highlights and classic hoops moments, all set to a Beatles song, covered by none other than 3 Stacks. I guess today’s just one of those days.
Mastering the art of marketing comes naturally for Nike. No better has this been expressed than through their collaborations with Michael Jordan and Spike Lee during the Air Jordan campaigns. Creating iconic commercials for the III’s IV’s and V’s, Spike Lee’s alter ego Mars Blackmon took the Jordan Brand to new heights. With a little help from MJ. To commemorate the latest Jordan Spiz’ike hybrid, Nike has created an interactive site to get lost in. Fun for all ages.
Sneakers to kicks are like the record industry to music. While the record industry is floppin harder and harder each day, the music industry is poppin harder than ever. In my humble, sneakers at large have been coolin off while the kick game couldn’t be hotter. Ian & Tom catch my drift. Lightweight hypocritical though. Here I am talking about how hurt sneakers are in a post about sneakers. Regardless, these caught my attention. Having already created similar versions for Converse and New Balance, creative designer Jeff Staple has inspired these Nike ID Air Max 90′s. Marrying gray and salmon, these kicks have a distinct aesthetic to them that isn’t doing too much. Rock these out and you’ll definitely get some love. Hit the more to see another rendition of the 90′s.
Back in the day errybody had some J’s. Let’s take a moment to recap some of the more memorable footwear choices. Brody had the snakeskins. Krisauce had the low VIII’s. Ocean had the XIV’s. Snick still has his XI’s in the drawer. Among other kicks, Case had the Oly VI’s, Kof’s got the DMP’s, Dom’s got the Laney’s, Triz & Twill got the I’s. Jarron had the mustard XIV’s (cult classics). TCASE & Bob got the VIII’s, Lan had the playoffs, Abigail had the XII’s. Damn. I love this shit. So fast forward to ’09, Jordan Brand has severely flopped themselves, oversaturating the market with below average footwear. Yet, every once in a while we get a glimpse of what JB used to be. In my humble, these I’s are the best effort from JB in a minute. Coming in Dark Obsidian and Metallic Zinc pictured above, these kicks will be available for all feet during the Holiday season from your local JB retailer.
These dunks are really on some other shit. Made entirely out of paper, visual artist David Brownings has created these colorful paper pieces. The U.K. artist, who also specializes in paper-mache, has made a series of these shoes in various colors and is also taking personal orders for your own paper kicks. Just email bruh, and you’ve got some custom paper kicks.
Chocolate Air Force 1′s. Designed by +41, these edible kicks were created to celebrate Nike’s 25th Anniversary for the Air Force 1′s. On some real shit though. White on white Air Forces were the go tos for like 4 years straight. Had to walk around hella carefully to make sure they didn’t get scuffed. Cats would flop themselves too. Their jeans would leak onto their kicks turning them light blue. You go to the bathroom at lunch and see cats standing in their socks with paper towels and soap. Damn I’m laughing. Props to Snick though, he started that shit. But back to the creation at hand. The miniature milk and white chocolate pack includes 3 boxes. 1 pair per box. Another testament to the creative prowess of Nike. I wonder if Reebok will ever catch up.
1 Love to the boy Dom for finding the path. Some chukka boots for the holidays. SImple and versatile. Simple and versatile. Suede finish makes them even icier. Even doper than the kicks, hypebeast gave love to Bows & Arrows, the hometown heroes. 60.
Okay, so there not exactly reinventing the wheel on this one, but the top siders are pretty much always a good look. I think some of the cleanest brands are the ones who take over their lane simply by focusing a quality product, and doing it well. Sperry has had the boat shoe game locked down since before our folks were born. The denim is a nice twist on a classic too. Max might cop the reds or something, but Matt’s still salty so he’ll try to cop those off-whites before I do. Hit MORE for the collection.
At first I was hesitant. Jordan Brand’s been floppin since ’03. But I decided to check Nike out and see what was really good. To my surprise, the site was dope. Featured at the History of Flight, is well, just that. A brief but entertaining time line of the career highlights of MJ. Reading through it you get lightweight nostalgic, but it’s actually a very well executed presentation. Nike’s just wet all around. This is just another example. Is Adidas trying to creep up though?
Stunt gear. Some Nike Air Pressures, but with the Lacoste swaggy. A collab between LimitEDitions and Lacoste Stealth, which I guess is Lacostes tucked off sub brand. The uppers are comprised of a broken-in vintage style leather with an “ED†Fleur de Lys’ on the tongue. Case would fuck these. He’d probably cop 3 if you know what I mean. Dom’s probably on these too. “Blood these are wet!” If the kicks themselves aren’t enough, peep the laces. So out here.
Part of Nike’s latest ad campaign for the Hyperize kicks. Can’t say I love the shoes, but this shit is worth the watch for so many reasons. If the idea of Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Rashard Lewis and Mo Williams gettin on a track isn’t reason enough, at least watch for Mo’s jheri curl. Is it me or does Durant lightweight have bars? Quik cameos would explain why the song kinda slaps. On some Space Jam soundtrack shit. Yet another moment in the long and storied history of hoopers trying to rap. Bet you weren’t up on this though.
Converse hit a home run in 1917 with the creation of the Chuck Taylors. One of the first functional basketball shoes, the kicks have stood the test of time and have become classics. Although the white on blacks are the staples of the brand, these renditions do not disappoint. In fact, they’re hits, a versatile sneaker for boys and girls. With this model Converse chose a fleece material over the canvas to breath new life into these timeless kicks. They’re yours for 100.
