ACU and D-Mop have brought some artisan style to the Stan Smith Vintage silhouette for this collection. Using the gloss finish on premium leather, and exploiting the palette the Stan Smith's pristine upper provides, the inspiration for the super detailed blue 'painting' comes from Chinese porcelain creations. The result is a unique looking design that takes the concept and runs with it, managing to add enough to the shoe to make their mark without rendering it a busy mess. That's quite a skill.

Beyond the obvious elements, the top eyelet, gold stitch on the midsole, and gold print along the collar evokes the gilding on ornate porcelain pieces, while the application of a plain nubuck toe to the shoe gives it a certain air of the much-loved Wilhelm Bungert model. That's not the intent though - it captures the coarser look and fortunately not the feel, of the unvarnished base of a plate or pot made using the centuries-old method. Mixing street style with a certain grace, this meeting of iconic looks is finished with the matching matt effect 'ENDORSED BY...' tongue detailing carrying the design partner logos, and a more delicate approach to calligraphy down the heels.

One of Nike Sportswear's most exciting new products has a lineage that's instantly recognizable. Charged with updating a classic of Nike design...yada, yada, yada...you've heard the press release spiel already. We don't play that copy sh*t round these parts. The Air Max 1 falls into a desert island shoe category - were it not for the wholesale rinsing of this silhouette in any referential colour-blocking or pattern cruelly thrown at it. It works better in traditional Max colours or, in some cases, a a monotone approach. As far as SMUs go, our policy runs as follows - top Atmos's 2003 masterpiece or GTFO. Most of the time the shoes should, as Dirty Harry on selector duties once intoned, "Remove ya!"

The debut Max model is a shoe that's gradually evolved over the years - the bigger bubble was scrapped at an early stage, but there's been gradual alterations in that shape since it reappeared with nylon circa. 1995. We would get our magnifying glasses out for the Maxim, but it's refreshingly free from comparison, being a shiny remake. But is it a sickly imitator a la 'Public Enemy 2000' or a triumphant 'Nine & Two Clips' homage? A 1998 'Lost In Space' or a 2009 'Star Trek'? For us, it's the latter. After the Current (Bermuda?) Influenced Air Max 90 last year and the Flywire variation, it was clear this staple would fall under the spotlight. In other colours it has yet to fully win us over, but we're suckers for Flywire and those colours, especially the blues.

Original samples carried more suede in tribute to the source material, but for production that's been suceeded with something more synthetic and lightweight - incidentally, these are significantly lighter than an Air Max 1. By all accounts, 66% lighter. Sheeeeeeiiit. Once again, thanks to The (Fly)Wire, we're uttering elongated expletives - word to Clay Davis. We don't normally quote all manner of numbers, but it seemed relevant. It was hardly a concrete shoe to begin with, so the effect is startling. Switching that midsole foam to something more contemporary, printing the Swoosh and giving it that Acespan mesh doesn't compromise the core appeal.

For those already gathering phlem to spit at the screen, chill and remember that, as with the 90 and Cortez, one makeover won't plug the glow of the original version. Far from it. In fact, expect the reissue of the red and white, and blue and white Max to hit Quickstrike accounts soon - just in case you forgot what it looked like since its 2006 retro. Stripped down and given added future flavours, the Maxim might look a little flaccid off the foot, but trust us when we say it looks great on. They're hitting the Crooked Store at some point this month too...

When the project idea was pitched, we at Crooked raised our voices in favour of reworking the Forum Mid. For us, alongside the Rivalry, Attitude, Concorde and Conductor, despite being released before the second half of the '80s, the Forum represents that era of big basketball shoes, big jackets and Latin Quarter regulars during hip-hop's golden age. It's a perfect shoe, sought after in the early '90s too. We respected C.L. Smooth's shoe game almost (note the almost) as much as his Elektra stablemate Grand Puba, and he rocked the Forum well.


There's no single story as to how the makeup came about, but we can testify as to why we, alongside Tokyo's VA chose this simple mix of colours and materials. Grey and yellow worked extremely well on the Crooked aZX ZX 9000 model, and we wanted to flip it a little with a palette that's associated with running designs above court shoes like this, via the neon pleasures of 'electricity yellow' on the 3-Stripes, Dellinger Webbing and branding. We wanted the shoe to look like it could've been cut from the team in '87 at the last minute rather than looking 2009.


In terms of materials, the Harputs 25th anniversary Forum was inspirational in its mix of Americana fabrics on the shoe. They made an undisputed classic with the addition of mesh, but it proved beneficial in terms of wear too. Harputs set a precedent. We opted for a nylon and premium leather mix and made one extra tweak - for years, that Velcro strap, beautiful as it is, has been slipping and causing us discomfort. We're not in the business of replacing Velcro either. That throws the whole equilibrium of the shoe. Instead we requested a subtle pop fastening, tonally in grey, on the medial side to keep it in place. It makes for the perfect place to subtly showcase our logos, and those sporting these with shorts this summer will thank us - we've wanted this modification in place for a while now.


The inevitable contrast stitch debate raged, and the end result was its inclusion, and three sets of laces - grey, neon yellow and a patterned version complete this package. It's the Forum the way we all wanted it. This model is set for release in the Crooked Store and other fine retailers on Saturday 18th of July.

The Superstar 80s is, for us, the definitive cut of a legendary shoe. We've been keen to play with this model for years - for 3Way, the opportunity arose. The problem with getting a Superstar to rework is that we found ourselves confused as to what to do with something so close to all our hearts without damaging that legacy, both personal and further reaching, and after all the attention it's had since it's 35th anniversary in 2005, what new looks can we bring to the table. First things first - this is a shoe that needs to be kept clean - there's no room for funny business. A nap suede was the original sample fabric, but this ultimately switched this to off-white nubuck. Yes, it's easily marked, but keeping your shoes fresh has been part of the challenge for connoisseurs since the days when copping a pair of Shelltoes was a Herculean challenge.


Correlating suede 3-Stripes and heeltab, a black stitch along the midsole matching the top metal eyelet, a perforated premium suede lining and matching nubuck footbed finished with embroidery are 'quiet' details that work as a whole to make this our vision of Superstar perfection.


Then there's the emboss on the heel depicting a knotted lace that represents four minds, as our three team partners made their mark on this Crooked Tongues creation. Oh yeah - we haven't mentioned the killer application yet. When the Crooked Tongues BK3 adicolor Century Lo was released to great success in May 2006, the all-black shoe carried our brainchild - a set of removable tongues, a kind of play on our name, that fixed in via a Velcro fastening, packaged with matching laces for completely different looks using a single base shoe.


Thanks to the designers at adidas Originals, what sounded like gimmickry worked well. Since then, it's a CT technology that's been waiting in the wings to strike again. It's back on this Superstar, the perfect candidate for our 'swap' application.


Each team store was allocated its own embossed tongue - VA opted for a grey and yellow, D-Mop went for a snake-effect pattern that incorporates browns, ACU chose green and we opted for Burgundy as a trademark colour. A more impartial option comes in the shape of a black one that carries all the names. A collection of laces, including an off-white pair, greys, burgundies, greens and blacks means a perfect match, and for starters, 5 individual looks in 1 package without any compromises on quality. This model is limited to the team retailers involved, as well as O-Stores, and it's set for release in the Crooked Store on Saturday 18th of July.

Sometimes we need to detox our feet with timeless designs rendered right. No neon, no pirate ships - just the basics looking as they should do. We've sometimes pondered as to how much any of the big guns care about the scattershot nature of their retros. It's only a minority who notice the details, right? Yes, but that eagle-eyed minority put the shoes on the pedestal they're currently teetering on, and sullying a rock-solid heritage is dumb. PUMA delivered with these Suedes. Lately, bar a few harder-to-find exceptions, the shape on Suedes, Clydes and States has been a little unusual, with the malady of the curved sole (a phenomenon not confined to PUMA) occurring frequently. Not on these.


The Suede harks back to the late '60s, where the titular material offered a premium and practical alternative to canvas. Not that we were around then. Take a look at the reissued 'Subway Art' too, and clock the primary shoe-of-choice on those oversized pages. Now that's an endorsement you can't buy. We know 'old school' has been bastardised by new-nostalgics who think that '94 is worthy of the term (though in fairness, 'old school' is totally subjective), but we're talking a truly nascent scene, where this shoe was established as a trend piece, even before Cooper and Chalfont got familiar.

The b-boys lapped up the Yugo-made '70s/'80s cut, and the skaters of the '90s might have been razor blading (nothing personal to the brand - it just seemed the right thing) Formstripes on the cut of the time, or sourcing deadstock. In fact one Crooked Tongues crew member swears blind that the deadstock in a local boutique was obtained by an ex-colleague. Beyond the board there were the beard scratchers too, helping instigate the rise of simple silhouettes. Black Moon's Buckshot rocked them well too. In the ensuing 16 years or so, the Suede has visibly aged. The ones in TK Maxx circa '04 weren't right, but things got worse after that on the sole unit front. Way worse.


Luckily, these makeups are super-simple and deeply effective. The chocolate brown numbers? Beautiful. The sole looks like it's been improved via a trip to the archives, the shape and branding is superior - less wonky than before and yes, the name of the shoe remains written beneath the gold logo, but it's far from a dealbreaker. Three sets of three, set to arrive in three drops between August and December in a selection spots that includes the Crooked Store. Excellent proposed pricepoint too...

Jason Jessee is officially big in Japan, thanks to a career as a practioner of "manly skating", status as a bike enthusiast, and an arty sideline. He's an interesting figure, the rarest of beasts in an industry beset by characters attempting to up the ante in terms of hardcore behaviour - Jason is naturally gnarly. From 'Streets Of Fire' through to the recent 'Pray For Me' documentary, he makes for excellent TV too. His '07 metal-shanked Syndicate designs saw the Old Skool and SK8-Hi reworked for rugged use, and here's a return to the latter in two makeups. It helps too in the authenticity stakes, while the neo-hypesters are currently dressed Woolrich and Danner down, that rather than putting these to work for consuming canapes of an evening and Tweeting his day away, Jason would quite happily put these workwear-inspired numbers to work.

Giving style 38 a new look via the cut away rear collar, stitched-detail rather than panelled 'Jazz Stripe' and a minimized padding around the collar, the leather on these is outstanding. It feels like the leather on these Vans could last a lifetime, and will benefit from the free character long-term wear provides. And yes, we know that lifelong wear and Vans sounds like an oxymoron, but at the very least, the soles on Syndicates seem to have lasted a little longer than our inline numbers.

The sets of waxed laces, hook top fastenings incorporating standard metal eyelets, and Outlast fabric lining, a hugely effective application, keeps feet warm in winter and absorbs the excess heat in summer, are nicely utilitarian. On the strictly visual side of things, the old world tongue branding pitching these designs as a 'Work/Skate Shoe', with 'Van Doren Rubber Company' on the rear, heel logo emboss orange line on the midsole to match the outsole and tonal heel tab matching the off white baked rubber look pretty too. For us, the browns win for their tone-on-tone stitching, but these are sureshots, and some of the best collaborative Syndicate visions to date.

Too often the industry seems beset by a game of monkey-see, monkey-do. We see the same models reworked time and time again. It gets wearing. Then there's blatant attempts for lagging brands to clock the sneaker 'craze' and demand a piece of the pie, lying back and getting a lineup of potential collaborators queuing for limited edition gangbangs like Debbie doing Dallas.

Working with Tretorn however, is a shrewd move. Stockholm's Sneakersnstuff have been selling shoes for a decade - that's something worth celebrating. Think back to '99. How many indie sneaker stores are still standing today? If it's London you're talking, then Abu Hamza could probably count that with the fingers on his right hand. it's fortuous that a fellow Swedish brand doesn't feel shoehorned (pun intended) in the slightest - Tretorn have been delivering a high quality, simple shoe that lacks the disposable feel of some fellow brands for a long, long time.

Our only concern is that the slightest tweak could give such clean-looking shoes a vulgar touch that goes against the brand's appeal. Peter, Erik and the crew are professionals, so we shouldn't have worried. Despite a history as a onetime Swedish military P.E. shoe, there's something relaxed and bohemian about a model like the Tournament. It's a. Herman Hesse book to the twisty, gimmicky Grisham potboilers the big brands serve up.

A 1956 design gets a slight tech-jacket, offroad spin, employing the holy trinity - Scotchlite, ripstop and beautiful, beautiful GORE-TEX. In black, with a white midsole, the simplicity is retained with a weatherproof yet breathable security that makes these a strong rain or shine choice. That's a concept close to our heart, especially at the moment as we pull a gasface to the cloudy skies each morning before we select the day's shoe selection. Uncertain times. Sticklers for symmetry that we are, the outsole colour mismatch in purple and green had us unsure for a second, but that unexpected dose of flair works well.

As with the PUMA Clyde of '07, the boys have excelled themselves on the packaging, from lace selections, to hangtags to a special shoe bag. For thinking outside the uniform shoebox stack, SNS get a CT salute, and we should be stocking a small run of this release, limited to 300 pairs globally as of Saturday 27th of June via the Crooked Tongues store.

The Forum is a defining moment in shoe design. Heavy price point, 'X' style panelling, Dellinger, the high, mid and low cuts...we love them. There's a few office-dwellers who rock them regularly in the summer months, seeing as the mid might be one of the most solid accompaniments for shorts there is. We were co-creators of a mid ourselves, but more about that at the beginning of July - this is this archive-inspired version's time to shine. Though in terms of materials, inevitably, we took some cues from this bad boy. Part of the FiveTwo3 collection, which sees the onetime aspirational silhouette sitting alongside the Samba, Nizza, Superstar and Stan as a core model. We were gutted to see the 25th anniversary models of last year condemned to the States and kept from us Euroheads, but bits like this have appeased us somewhat. This is arguably as fine a shoe as the Uptown, released one year previous - that's what made the decision to ape the chunkier midsole of the AF1 such an abomination to we, the Forum faithful.

This is about as far from that abomination as it could possibly get. Authentic down to the nylon tongue with leather laceloop and weave of the laces, the red and white is a superior combination, heavy on the rouge, but not to the point where you'll look like Judy Garland thanks to the application of white at just the right points - midsole, 3-Stripes and collar. The leather is soft, and the whole design should evoke a warm feeling in anyone who scoured stores for this throughout the late '80s and early '90s, envied Kool Bob Love and the Elektra staff digging up deadstock, or passed on a pair in Foot Locker circa '92 and remains repentant. The embroidered sockliner is a contemporary touch, depicting the Herzo H.Q. and aligning it with archive style takes on all five flagship shoes, but other than that, this is more proof that adidas is getting it very, very right beyond running shoes in '09 - even for us lowly characters doomed to live outside of America.

These should be hitting the Crooked Store for the 1st of July. Banging.

Did you ever see the 'Easter' variation of the adidas Conductor Low? You didn't? Good. It was atrocious. It upset us. More so because we love this silhouette in all its hi-topped glory, as it reflects a seminal adidas era for us, pre-Torsion fussiness, with some truly aspirational pieces carrying the 3-Stripes. Rivalries, Conductors and Attitudes - a holy trinity, with a solid supporting cast of shoes like the massive Fleetwood. The definitive companion for Double Goose Country, these models were rocked to perfection by Chuck D, Flava and co. in the P.E. early days as well as Ad Rock and the boys when they were significantly less concerned with consciousness and charity, but spare a thought for those of us, who, in a cash-strapped moment of mimicry were left to sport the slimline, budget crappiness of the Pro Conference Hi, more readily available in '88 for small-towners.

As evidence of how to wear a shoe like this properly, check out the Latin Quarter piece that ran in an '07 Wax Poetics, with Kool Keith and just about any hip-hop luminary of the late '80s proudly rocking oversized adi. This makeup - black, white and snakeskin effect is a stone-cold banger. The Attitude with the reptile pattern was the kind of glorious masterpiece we could only dream of owning 21 years ago, a true 'grail' locally that still holds weight, while the word has been bastardized to describe anything sold-out, limited or mildly elusive now. This is the kind of footwear we could envision on the feet of Kid Dynamite during that fateful 4:30am encounter with Mitch Green en route to pick up his white leather custom piece from the legendary Dapper Dan's back in its 24 hour opening boomtime. These are available for pre-order from the Crooked Store now. There's been some tremendous makeups of Attitudes and Conductors in recent months and we've noticed them quietly depart from store shelves with the quickness.

Shawn Stussy's appearance at the Syndicate event in S.F. last year had us pondering as to whether he'd be playing a part in a forthcoming collection. Like previous partners, Shawn is a pioneers in his respective field. His impact on street culture...we'll rephrase that - culture as a whole, is a hard one to pin down in paragraphs So we won't try. One thing's for sure - there's plenty in our office who wouldn't be in their current position without the foundations he set. For a long, long time he seemed to be an elusive figure who seemed to have settled into a position as a surfing family man since selling the Stussy brand. We remember an interview in the Sunday Times magazine in the late '90s, a nice piece in the sadly defunct Philosophy zine and then very little until the announcement of S/Double and some returns to Q&A territory like this Crooked piece from last August. Through Mr. Stussy's own blog, we've seen previews of footwear projects riffing off reference points like Ivy League semi-formality and the mighty Metro Attitude. He's still got it.

This partner project with Vans looks like it'll be the first fruits of Shawn's new-brand to reach the shelves, and opting for a slight marine theme that the Sk8-Low AV, an overlooked design from the current Vans roster, accidentally conveys in all its low-cut glory, he's kept it super-clean. Mixing a premium leather with ballistic nylon and a tonal approach to traditional touches, via a white-on-white heel tab, the SS logo is present on the tongue, with a matching red top eyelet, and within the triangular outsole detailing. The soft leather lining and waxed laces are the kind of touches us spoilt Syndicate disciples have grown to expect, but the use of a particularly recognisable font embossed across the heel and all-over the corresponding red sockliner earmarks this as a particularly fine, "crew combo platter..." that works well - especially in the less contrast stitched black versions, but both are exceptional.

Part of a brace of ZX models taking makeup cues from the past, this take on the ZX 600 seems to nod to an office favourite in the choice of applied colours - they're hardly a mirror image, but we can see what's arguably one of the greatest ZX designs of all time, the ZX 930, in the chosen palette and those laces. We'd love to see a faithful resurrection of the source material (as well as 1987's ZX 710), but given its '88 release it seems that the late '80s retro programme is distracted by the appealingly techy Torsion technology. It's a shame. The 600 itself, with training intent on its '85 introduction and that fancy dual-density midsole was ahead-of-its-time from a design point-of-view, and while some of the '07 ZX packs missed the point of the fine canvas these shoes provide for adidas designers with an eye-for-detail, the aZX project seemed to instigate some fine non-collaborative releases.

The texture-free 3-Stripes in silver look a little cheap, and a spot of ribbed synthetic material would have set these off a little more triumphantly, but as it stands, it's some extremely decent late-alphabet fare for the warmer months at a good pricepoint. Released on July 1st in the Crooked store, we've got 'em for pre-order right here.

We were having a Homer Simpson-style dreamland moment when we heard the concept behind this trio, so you'll have to take our vague stabs at the thought process and admiration for the sheer volume of applications and material treatment on these Coastal creations. We're never going to be more than 'just friends' with the Superstar Vulc - love just isn't on the cards, but with a slightly sinister woodland camo-style pattern on the upper, suede 3-Stripes and lacestays, a burgundy and olive green (including the shell) colour mix and gum on the forefoot there's shades of sinister bearded strangers, doom metal, Black Sabbath's debut sleeve art, the wallpaper on those creepy houses to rent where a pensioner died that seem too good to be true in the overall lookand some Vertigo psychedelia in the fonts. Forgive us if those reference points keep you up at night. This is a weird trio.


The Ciero is, as we've probably proven through recent coverage, a personal favourite. The low gets printed patterning on nubuck, nylon stripes, a black leather tongue and suede on that forefoot, while the mid has a printed ripstop fabric on the upper, white canvas stripes, and the suede forefoot and lacestays, plus leather panelling. Beyond the choice of lettering, this pack is linked by the towelling fabric on the lining and a sockliner with evil-looking tree artwork. If we're to go on a cult movie reference rampage, there's some shades of the Peter Fonda/Warren Oates/witch chase flick 'Race With The Devil' in there and even atrocious satanic Friedkin woodland crapfest 'The Guardian' in the mix. Maybe not intentionally, but overanalysis will always filter out what was never intended. We don't know who these are targeted at, but oddly, they actually capture the vibe of a late night Halloween b-flick that leaves (in both senses of the word for this collection) you keeping the light on overnight than usual efforts, even if it wasn't created with October 31st in mind.

The Nike Blazer is pretty much poetry in motion. Capturing the essence of the Swoosh, it really doesn't need much tinkering with. Sticking a Blazer midsole not dissimilar to the tweaked, smoothed-out one displayed on the pictured model to a Flight (coincidentally) Lite upper? That was evidence of the brand blaspheming its own design classics. Those stupid slimline women's ones from '05? Bad. The ones with the grooves in the outsole from '07? Pointless. And that's coming from open-minded Blazer fanatics.

We're equal opportunities - we like the leather mids with the slimmer branding and canvas foxing from '04 that languished in Footlocker sales, replicating the model circa 1980, but we also like the '73 styles with branding that looks set for its water to break at any minute. This year's been a good one for Blazer acolytes, with the Tier Zero premium Swoosh-free banger, SB makeovers that made some noise and the return of the Hi in vintage form. Nike really should consider letting the fat bellies and later version coexist in their catalogues season-after-season, rather than letting one usurp the other, but to reiterate our earlier sentiment we're happy with the offerings of the last six months.

We don't actually understand where the demand for the Blazer Lite lies, but maybe we're just getting old and more embittered, but for what it's worth it's one of the more acceptable spots of formula fu*kery of recent years. But we'll commence with the negatives. That pared down padding around the collar makes things a little too skinny, the line on the midsole and slick feel makes the shoe feel like a follower rather than the auto claved masterpiece it once was, and is the lack of Swoosh on the medial side a jettison to make it lighter? Seems a little extreme.

On the positive side, other than the fact the Lite could have been far worse, that grid patterned nylon on the upper feels like a Tech Pack Vandal that never was, and looks great, the neon and grey combo is always a winnter visually, the restraint in keeping the Swoosh leather is admirable and true to their name, these are very, very light, making the source material feel like a concrete boot by comparison - comfort is an issue with the Blazer, and these Tier Zero releases iron that out. Traditionalists that we are, we'll stick to something a little less altered, but as it stands, the Blazer Lite definitely has an audience, and given our scepticism on hearing the name, were a lot more agreeable than we anticipated.

'Debacle' is one of those words that rolls off the tongue and something we've applied to so many industry botch jobs from over the years it's lost its resonance as a term of derision. It's also a great name for the new Nike SB DVD - after the press-courting boat trips, hype shoes and canapes of '07's 'Nothing But The Truth', things have wisely shifted back-to-basics. Filmed in HD, and focused on the team's new breed, in the shape of Justin Brock, Daryl Angel, Shane O' Neill, Grant Taylor and David Clark, most of whom got their own shoe makeups a month or so ago, these young skaters promise big things, 'Debacle' is getting a screening at London's Slam City tomorrow (June 12th) at 7pm courtesy of our friends at SB and the Slam crew. Notably, it's showing elsewhere in Europe at exactly the same time in other indie skate stores, so no one in this neck of the woods globally gets bragging rights as to who saw it first.

There'll be some complimentary refreshments, but sadly, no hog roast - a definite 'Nothing...' event culinary highlight. The compensation? Some good visuals, and some good company, though spaces will be limited. Plus it's an excuse to check out the downstairs Nike space, socialise and get a little lean, and the weather is shaping up to be reasonable, if lurking around Neal's Yard is your thing. With the recent Koston coup, we're expecting big, big things (And yes, the false rumour that the eS Foothills shoe is a Koston reject has been amusing us today.) from the next team film as well as the footwear output when he gets his first Swooshed pro-model. Anyway, that's for future news - this is the time to let the next generation shine.

If it looks like we've been focused on adidas and its Coastal and Skateboarding divisions lately, it's because we are. Our man in P-Town blessed us with a box of samples to shoot over the coming weeks that contains some of the best releases we've seen in a minute. And just because the the expat benefactor and colourway king is a friend of ours, doesn't confer gushing, shoe-of-the-year status. What we don't like would normally get an evasive, run-of-the-mill writeup, free of hyperbole. But these? The new Busenitz model is our kind of shoe. Dennis flipped the script with his Gazelle makeup from adidas Skateboarding all those years back - the reds and EA-endorsed 'Skate' makeups were killer, and it's a shoe we're still extremely fond of, but you've got to move on, and a monkey see, monkey do, pad-out-a-classic approach is a little tired. We've spotted the Skate team dropping some new bits over the years, but the Busenitz accomplishes all it sets out to do with ease. A skater still blowing minds, with skills that shine, even with Mark Gonzales as a teammate, other big brand teams might have had some good luck of late on the signee front, but Dennis is an individual, and his training/soccer shoe preoccupation seeps from this brand new silhouette.


Slightly more built up toward the rear, with a slimmer forefoot that conjours up fond memories of any 3-Striped football training shoe you've ever owned, the stitched ball control elements in the panel that dominates the front should perform with a board as well as pedals - coinciding with soccer-styling making for ideal fixed footwear. The flat ribbed tongue and patterning on the outsole makes this a strong evolution from design sessions where Busenitz has evidently spoken lovingly, possibly with some slight Anglophile tendencies, of rocking Gazelles and Sambas in the early '90s, and it's displayed more overtly on the sockliner pattern. On a more progressive, but equally appealling note, the 'heel' counter that dips short of covering the heel and holes toward the front midsole are subtle, while the quality of suede is as we've come to expect from adi's skate wing, outstanding. Choc brown with a gum sole or gold on black with a white sole? We think the latter just edges it? The premium feel certainly keeps these out the specialist-brand race to make the lightest skate shoes, but they sure are pretty. Fresh to death.

Round two of this ASICS collection is actually more effective than the first wave. We're big fans of the original trio of executions that capture the techy touches that make us "ooh" and "ahh" on occasional forays to the kind of athletic stores where they make you jog across the shop floor and tell us about our overpronating ways (often the reason for a lack of symmetry between the wear on your left and right shoe) before they'd let us leave with a pair rather than passing us a UK9 and leaving us to our own devices. Those shops are hotbeds of new breathable fabrics, flexible panelling and reflective touches that minimise your chances of ending up on a car bonnet because you were too busy listening to 'War' from Rocky IV on your iPod. Sadly, built for speed, twin a lot of these performance pieces with denim, and you're in Dadwear territory. And not in the good 'Free & Easy' way.


Most of those bad boys are strictly made for rapid movement. As we exclaimed last month, thank god for the seemingly flexible relationship between the heritage and performance sides at ASICS HQ. Instead of trying to hop aboard the already overloaded hybrid bandwagon, their mixture of performance fabrics, colourways and gloriously synthetic stripe branding, offering the more wearable side of Kayanos and the Cumulus series on a GT II, Lyte Speed and Gel Lyte III is evocative of the brand's hugely popular contemporary runners, without being unwearable without a singlet and short shorts. From the smoky recurring pattern to check pattern materials, sci-fi meshes and silver faux-leather, the Lyte Speed is a favourite here, but it's all good. There's a fair chance these could be hitting the CT Store, but in the meantime, here's the first wave - just in case you were sleeping.

Cieros are one those adi shoes that sit in the netherworld between lifestyle and skate, minus the exaggerated ST super-deformed takes on classic adi. With its touch of tricked-out Gazelle and the ensuing non 3-Striped Gazelle nods that the likes of Sal Barbier generated, that overlapping panel that spills onto the first stripe is a truly odd touch that works. A lot of newer models that riff off older models just flop by offering too little innovation and too many design elements that evoke old favourites - the Ciero just feels correct and the pedal-friendly aura is timely, especially when we're set to be assailed by even more bike shoes.

The version that CT Crew members C-Law and BJ Betts put together highlighted just how much potential this silhouette carries in its mid-cut form, from the tongue down to the 'arrows' on the outsole, and it these three variations, particularly the low takes, things are a little more simple. The mossy shades on the pictured mid are cool - we suspect they're part of C-Law's green preoccupation, but the browns, with their tonal branding and spot of purple atop the subtly jagged midsole detailing hark back to colourway classicism, and the unfussy sole details and mustard yellow suede of the other ones? We like. A lot. It's heartening to see this sleeper keep on rising to the top minus daft hype and performance contrivances. It's a solid shoe with plenty of wide-ranging appeal.

Oddly ignored on the forums that breed SB hype, the very thing that's been loudly e-criticised on this Dunk mid has been the white sole unit. We beg to differ. The synergy of whites on the sole, tumbled leather toebox and croc-texture swoosh is what makes this shoe. Gold stitch, tongue edges and lining, alongside a particularly regal purple and navy suede mix has had visitors to the office lifting them aloft and giving them the universal face of approval - that mixture of nod and gormless interest. We take this demographic very seriously in canvassing shoe opinion, and we were fans right from the off.

We attribute lukewarm reaction to badly lit photos and an inexplicable fanaticism for colours on the midsole, even when it makes sense, as with this case. We're not sure if there's a specific theme being pimped on this makeup and too be quite honest, we couldn't care less. These just get the job done with a premium feel and unexpected subtlety. And when it gets hot again and ceases with the waterworks, the mid is the Dunk to be rocking as you break out the short trousers once again.

We've sort-of staggered the News rollout of Janoski makeups, and because we're quaint and don't do the press release right click or settle for one-liners, we've made trouble for ourselves when it comes to writing paragraphs for each clean colourway of an exceptionally simple shoe. But we don't care.Where there's a good shoe, there's scope for waffling, and those colours have gradually lightened up for each featured makeup in line with that creeping temperature on UK shores (well, in the South anyway).

These are just an exceptionally strong creation - whether it's shorts, baggy denim or rolled chinos, stick some Janoskis on and they'll flatter the attire. The fact you can skate in them is a bonus. Sticking with the suedes at the moment, they're perfect summer fare, that quarter panel, the forefoot perfs and vulcanized sole unit just makes us feel a bit fancier than usual, twinned with a lightweight borderline nautical feel, giving us a psychological air of '80s smooth operators like TV's Ken Masters or Willem Dafoe in 'To Live And Die In L.A.' rather than the bulky shoed oiks we usually are. Michael Leon's creative direction adds an extra edge too alongside the fine boffin performance achievements of our SB crew friends.

The tasteful double act of grey on the quarter and beige everywhere else, with brown piping, foxing and premium lining, finished with a plaid-pattern Zoom-insert footbed and tonal tongue logo is perfect for shredding or just strutting around town in the sunshine carrying a fancy coordinating holdall, as is the look for some local characters. The choice is yours when these drop in July at Slam City Skates and your local indie skate spots.

The Gazelle skate has been a shoe that makes us want to get out our seats and do the Ed Lover since its inception. It's a model that fulfilled its brief and intent with aplomb. We keep hearing comments from friends, associates and consumers surrounding their availability too, indicating that up to recent months, adidas was missing a trick. Less so now. Suede so invincible the cow must've been grazing on Kryptonite, plus a few extra millimeters of width for those of us who like a bit of chunk when they look down, but not too so that it looks a little cartoonish, goes a long, long way in our book.

On spotting these in Portland late last year, we saw a few fine transitions of classic adidas colourways onto new silhouettes and interesting tweaks on favourites, of which this re-reub of a crew favourite was the star. Shades of Stockholm on this upper, down to the lining, exploiting that forefoot design work extremely well, leather 3-Stripes and that gum sole unit brings out the best in the shoe. Set to drop imminently in the frugal number of stores stocking adi Skate, big things are a-coming from the increasingly interesting subdivision, including a superb Busenitz pro-model that takes more cues from slimline old school soccer silhouettes with equally winning effect. But more on that later...