crooked tongues magazine News Features

Moccasin toes have been ubiquitous for a while, but since Visvim went to town on the Native American influence with a nifty throwback to the perenially well-dressed Terry Hall, the rest of the industry followed suit by seeing how far they could take it on a sneaker level, straying from a sporting formula. Laurentian Chief and Quoddy made a few quid too beyond their usual fanbase. Will the bubble burst at trend level? Probably, but moc-styles are so damned comfortable ...

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Wow. There's a lot of Air Maxes out there and fortunately it hasn't been relegated to the backburner 'Sunset Boulevard' style by a younger model, becoming part of the collection that unleashed the Maxim 1, a great shoe that's still homaging the 1987 masterpiece rather than superseding it. In fact, we challenge someone to design a better running shoe from scratch in 2009 without dipping into the Max's genetics. In a peculiar way, we wanted the ...

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If you still haven't begged, borrowed, burgled or killed for Mr. Takatoshi Akutagawa's 'Blue Ribbons' book, originally published in 2005, then we feel bad for you son. That right there, is the greatest book on running shoe history ever published. Takatoshi scoured flea markets and Photoshopped those cracked soles so you didn't have to. We also heard a rumour that Nike took some of those rarities off his hands too for their archives, but that really could ...

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Given that London is in the midst of a bicycle film festival at time-of-writing, the new Supercorsa seems a little more pertinent. When phase one of the Supercorsa hit the office around Easter in green we laughed because they looked like someone had given Kermit a buckshot shampoo and flayed him while he was still twitching. Of course, they were themed after Vittoria Eroica bike shoes, and as the weather heated, they made infinitely more sense for those who didn ...

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DJ Clark Kent knows his Uptowns, and made New Yorkers go giddy for his Black Fridays and 112 versions of the shoe he covets, while Undefeated's Eddie Cruz knows more about the collaboration game than you, and refuses to settle for a formula. Subsequently, they're the right people to be calling in for a collaboration when the good ship 'double label project' has hit choppy waters. Like Bobbito's fine examples before, there's no substitute for a ...

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Taka Hayashi has been one of the more interesting Vans cohorts of late. The Owens Hi he worked on last year looked like an Alien Stomper if H.R. Giger had done the concept art for it with squint-inducing levels of detail at work. From the midsole up, Taka had made his mark throughout. And they captured a point in time when minds opened for a second to let something so genuinely off-the-wall into their affections. The Japan-born and Santa ...

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When the Nike Vintage line dropped, it took us a couple of weeks to get our heads around it. We got the answer to the very thing we'd moaned about - shoes re-released in a perfect form, and not flogged to death with ensuing hybrids or colourway lunacy either. The downside? The artificial yellowing. Slouchy appearance due to brushed leather and archive accurate nylons and meshes was good - it doesn't have the sterile feel of opening the current brace ...

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These shouldn't hold any appeal whatsoever. We may have been desensitized by recent Franken-Jordan experiments that have thrown 1s, 2s, 5s and 7s and lord-knows-what into the blender, as well as being influenced by recent slushy NYC jaunts where ontime monstrosities like the Foamdome made sense in the shadow of that skyline. Those shoes in particular just look a bit special for all the wrong reasons out that context, when transported to our nation's capital. Spizikes however, bar ...

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Sometimes the Vault range has been slept-on by us as we flit from inline to the Syndicate range, but the forthcoming season is a significant evolution in their quality and designs. Some of the prices have hiked, but we'll be goddamned if the collection hasn't found its feet in style for Autumn '09. When we saw the Proper versions of the Chukka Del Barco we were impressed, but those things shifted double-quick - the mid cut had a rounded ...

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A controversial addition to the News section, mainly because they're not sneakers. We could try to argue that they are - casual, with the Wallabee shape for day-to-day performance, popping to the pub or grabbing some Rizlas, milk and Pringles of an evening. It would be futile though. Totally futile. So we'll admit it. We just really like Weavers. From Staten Island to Sheffield, their appeal is pretty universal, and 15,320 views on the 'Clarks........' thread in our ...

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Ever since Classickicks peddled those fine 'Off The Wall' ad campaign colourways, and resurrected the spirit of '77 in a manner that was conceptual, yet evocative of an Era (pun intended) when things seemed significantly less conceptual, the 'Off The Wall' collection has been the most welcome return of the last twelve months. But heading to NYC was an inconvenience, and Colette sold out of those things with the quickness. Fortunately these inline beauties come as part of a brace ...

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Jordan 1s have been a strange one since their reintroduction. Seemingly more wildly available on their original release (Kays catalogue as we recall) than chapters II and III, the 1994 retro instigated something bubbling beneath the surface that ultimately erupted like the Lake Nyos disaster. It's curious to think that beyond connoisseurs, the notion of a Jordan retro was alienating to so many consumers, leading to salerack status. Yet in many ways these auspicious beginnings could be seen as ...

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Having professed our fondness for the recently resurrected Royal CVO (formerly the Royal Edge), no sooner had the last PRO-Keds news gone live, than these makeups courtesy of Opening Ceremony appeared in the office. Opening Ceremony have become a destination spot in NYC if you're a tourist looking for some exclusive gear that's offbeat while wearable, or a lesser store (or mega corporation) looking for a shrewd buying policy to bite. With branches in L.A. and Tokyo ...

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To precede the release of the 'Tongue N' Cheek' Air Max 90, we caught up with Dizzee and Ben, the men behind the shoe, for a spot of Q&A. Which meant geeking out over shoes, showbusiness and design. As a duo, they've obviously got a lot of respect for each other, with a design partnership that harks back to Dizzee's XL debut. On face value, their Air Max is a solid shoe, but with so much detail ...

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For a second, we thought Dizzee's ascent from Roll Deep member to fully fledged solo artist was doomed - you know the deal, five out of five in Observer Music Magazine, then a slow slide down the festival bills to come on after Plan B and a beatboxer. We were very, very wrong - just because so many artists from these shores, forced to wear the 'urban' tag disappeared into the void, Mr. Rascal's ear for a tune, willingness to ...

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Back in Akron, OH, Mr. James naturally took a fair amount of the spotlight. But he would do. The shoe bears his surname. Plus there was a documentary to promote and the location was his hometown. And physically, his stature means he can inadvertently hog the webcast. But whereas we've credited previous installments to Ken Post, the design duties for the VII were given to Jason Petrie - a kindred spirit in shoe fanaticism.Our first conversation was chatting about ...

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Our interview with Air Max LeBron VII designer is delayed once again, so in the meantime, here's some more pictures of the LeBron VII London edition. France's artist series effort was tremendous - the best so far, but seeing as the differences on the 'More Than A Game' edition between cities are fractional, this shoe bangs in all its global formats. Normally photographic imagery on shoes is an aesthetic crime that ranks alongside any form of graffiti on a ...

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We had some LeBron-related information overload ready for today, but the photographys's been delayed, so it seemed like a good time to take a look at these PRO-Keds Royal CVOs sent through the morning after our barbecue via the Dante Ross connection. Shouts to Mr. Ross, who's elevating the brand in a solid grassroots manner using his knowledge of shoes and extensive contact list. Actually shouts to Mr. Ross are due anyway for his Artist Relations and production ...

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The first drop of Rod Lavers from adidas's Consortium division seemed to elicit a reaction from even the most jaded characters out there. Given its authenticity as a stone-cold classic, we've seen lesser models given a forced elevation in big-budget campaigns, but Rod's design is one that deserves the spotlight. D-Mop, Goodfoot, Wood Wood, Solebox and ACU make up the final five, and the results capture the aesthetic of all involved pretty effectively. Some, like D-Mop had ...

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A month on from last month's LeBron VII launch, the big man's finally in town for 24 hours. A lot can change in a matter of weeks, but after causing some mania in Paris yesterday, it was London's turn. Obviously the aim is to promote the (currently) patent-toed design, a footwear highlight of the year thus far, and plug the 'More than a Game' documentary alongside Lion's Gate, currently getting some extra soundtrack promo via the ...

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Here's a little first look at something pretty major from Lacoste and our friends at Barcelona's LimitEDitions store. While you were sleeping, Ricky, Angel and the crew created one of the most impressive sneaker retail experiences in Europe. In fact, cross that out - with their alarmingly precise approach to window displays, it's one of the most impressive sneaker retail experiences there is, period. You'd have to get up early to take the LimitEDitions crown...factor in ...

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New Balance 420s just keep on coming since their reintroduction. The DDCLAB versions and vintage takes of this '80s design were polar opposites of sorts - one defiantly futurist, and the other steeped in accurate olde world looks. More inportantly they opened up the possibilities for a whole ton of colourways in between. And here's a selection. We've long been sticklers for the later, bulkier NB creations, but in colourways like this, the 420 has won us over. Not ...

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2012

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crooked tongues magazine News Features

Vans Vault Taka Hayashi Scout LX

More Nike Air Max 1s

Nike Challenger Vintage

More Vans Supercorsas

Nike East Vs. West AF1s

Vans Taka Hayashi Velocita LX

Nike Vintage Blazer Hi

Jordan Spizike Boot

Vans Chukka Del Barco LXs

Clarks Originals Weavers

Vans Mid Skool 77s

Nike Air Jordan 1 Black/Grey

PRO-Keds x Opening Ceremony Royal CVOs

The 'Tongue N' Cheek' AM90 - A Conversation With Dizzee Rascal and Ben Drury

Nike Sportswear 'Tongue N' Cheek' Air Max 90

Air Max LeBron VII - A conversation with Jason Petrie

London 'More Than A Game' Air Max LeBron VIIs

PRO-Keds CVOs

adidas Consortium Rod Laver Collection - Second Drop

LeBron James at the House Of Hoops opening...

Lacoste x LimitEDitions Indiana Highs

New Balance 420s

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