crooked tongues magazine News Features

In the Spring collection during showroom-time we saw a few weak links, but this right here was the highlight. If you thought Lenny had shot his creative bolt on SBs, FLOMs, charity Blazers and all that other goodness early last decade when it came to Nike footwear, you're wrong. Is it too early to be calling best-of-years? actually, yeah, it is, but we can't resist an AF1 High, nylon strap and all that's kept nice and basic. And like our fellow denizens of hypesville, we're also huge Futura fans, from 'Subway Art,' the Westway, Madonna flings and Mo' Wax to the present day. Like Mr. Ben Drury, Futura overstands the process of sneaker design, and can apply his aesthetic without resorting to drips and characters, and with his penchant for sci-fi styling and Kubrickian cleanliness beyond the more widely-documented combat looks and fantastical fonts he's implemented in the past, as well as a real appreciation for sneaker design, he combines the former and the latter perfectly on this makeup.

From a distance, you get a black-on-black high. so far, so simple, but closeup, the attention-to-detail is phenomenal; the gradual fade in the size of the perforations, going from standard holes to unsullied clean premium leather, the Futura tag on the tongue, and his trademark typography on the lace jewel too. That's the quiet stuff - on the underside, it keeps it 'True' in familiar lettering beneath an ice sole. That's less subtle, but it's a pretty killer application given the restraint shown up top. Lenny's recent 'Cathedrals of the Game' baseball ground photography project (do yourself a favour, and go check FUTURADOSMIL's Flickr photostream) is an interesting move, shifting back to another lifetime preoccupation beyond the spraycan, and you can expect some tie-in as part of the NSW rivalry theme that's generated so many other unexpected bangers these last few season. Part of a brace of strong Futura releases from Nike, these hit the Crooked Store shortly.