crooked tongues magazine News Features

New York's DDC Labs made a sealed-seam 1400 for New Balance that blew our minds, and the 574 'Sonic Pack' is some strong work from them too. People could get precious about the 1400 though, seeing as it was once a pinnacle shoe with a price point to match. But the 574? We love this snub-nosed silhouette, which until recently, has been left out the party when it comes to special projects. But we'll raise no objections if ...

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We thought the Air Revolution makeup of the Jordan Flight 45 was a good look, and the White, Spice and Wolf Grey is a little excessive on the contrast stitching, but still appeals more than many other hybrids. The futuristic 'Jordan' script on the strap still isn't ideal, but at least it isn't embossed on an out-of-place patent application—now the sheen is kept to a black heel panel instead. The tumble leather effect feels a little more ...

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The Nike Air Max Liquid Racer is one of those curious remixes that appears in the showroom each year. The Air Max Skyline, looking like the Triax or ST's poorer brother is one example. Or the remixed Pegasus lines of the Air Twilight Runner. Sometimes they're above-average heel wrestlers to the Ted DiBiase of footwear world that is the Air Max 90. They veer toward contender status but get Million Dollar Dreamed by a certain cheapness. They're ...

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ThisAir Jordan 1 High looks oddly familiar. Just higher, longer and slimmer. And in this sample, a really effing odd shape. More proof that Jordan Brand are keen to work the Dunk parallels with the debut MJ signature model over coming seasons. We've seen North Carolina colours on this shoe, and we're about to see that theme pushed further on the "For the Love of the Game" line to coincide with the World Basketball Festival madness that's ...

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It's worth noting from the off that this Nike Zoom Kobe V isn't getting a release. It's also known as the "Inspector Gadget" version of the shoe, but that's strictly unofficial. This weekend's too hot to break out the big guns, and we meant to feature this shoe a few weeks back. We know you're all about the football this weekend, or that you've buggered off to Glastonbury. Seeing as there's an ...

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There must have been a meeting at some point where the similarities between the Air Jordan 1 and Nike Dunk were discussed, and a similar influx of colourways schemed. We used to be able to keep up with the comings and goings of this 1985 masterpiece. Sure, the introduction of Retro+ had us a little shakey, but now? There's a serious amount of Jordan 1 Highs on the market. Some we've been ambivalent about, and others (the pseudo-KO ...

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As tennis shoes go, the PUMA Tennis Comp Star is one of the good ones. Sturdy, dependable and well-designed, it's actually one of the strongest PUMA shoes we've seen in a while. The Undefeated Comp Star for Gumball was fairly slept-on in our humble opinion, still with the green fixation, but themed on Steve McQueen's Ford Mustang in 'Bullitt'. While we'll probably drink cyanide-laced Flavor Aid if we see another solemn WordPress post dedicated to McQueen ...

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We thought the days of hybrid threesomes were over until the Nike Lunar Presto Rejuven8 came along, resulting in something pretty good. In fact, the shoe first materialised in the electronic realm on the Crooked Tongues Forum in a slightly superior colourway, but this makeup evokes some memories of the debut LunarGlide+. That's no bad thing. A trio of comfort breakthroughs in one silhouette—the mighty Presto, the decent Rejuven8 (which felt like a stronger expansion of the Presto ...

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The Uno is still a trademark shoe for the Gourmet brand. Some designs have been and gone in the range, and the fabrics have travelled the material spectrum from premium leather to canvas, but this is still our pick for wear with shorts. Quattros are cool, but this is the best distillation of Jordan design language. Like the 'KO' of Jordan VIIs, the whole Gourmet squad's love of the source material shines through and they're insanely comfortable too ...

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Can it be that we haven't covered the Air Jordan Alpha 1 on these pages yet, despite its launch earlier in the year? That was a Bozo move on our part. We're big fans of this update to a sacred cow. We've seen player samples of early Jordan chapters like III and IV on contemporary NBA courts in line with recent retros, but Jordan 1s on the court? Less so. These were introduced to us during play ...

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We've been a little too hard on the PUMA Dallas just because it wasn't the Udo Lattek endorsed version we were raised to love. We're sorry, because we acted like nasty stepfathers towards the brand's latest reintroduction. Even though an O.G. pair of this version crept into the Unorthodox Styles book, we're still not sure of this Dallas design's origins. You know what? We can't diss a shoe just for being a ...

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We don't know why we never laid our hands on a decent Air Max 1 that follows the theme, but the Nike Air Maxim 1 Omega is a good example of a new makeup done right on a shoe that can work in certain executions. Given the similarities between Max and Maxim, despite only being a year old, to render the shoe in anything original is a Herculean challenge for any colourway operative. The easy way out? Air Attack ...

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The Converse SICKS mark the first time we've been impressed by a Converse performance piece in a while. Raised on All Stars for skating, but wearing CONS and Energy Wave pieces as a more affordable and easily attainable alternative to the costly Nike innovations of the time, the technical output from Converse has a very special place in our hearts. On European shore as the very least, we only got glimpses in 'Slam' of some interesting designs in the ...

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We're surprised it took this long for a Nike Air Force 1 Foamposite to materialise. Nike are masters of taking the consumer out their comfort zone in the quest for comfort at performance level. When the Nike Foamposite 1 dropped in 1997, it was rapturously received by players who'd been following Penny Hardaway's deeply progressive shoe line. This was a year when Nike used Zoom to push the envelope. References to shoes of old in the designs ...

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A balls-out design from Nike, both literally and figuratively, the Nike Air Max Courtballistec 2.3 feels about as elaborate as it gets in 2010. Our good friend Nick served up a spot of cultural context for this shoe a few weeks back on High Snobiety, but we felt it still warranted some exposure on these pages too. Plus Wimbledon's approaching, and we're sure there'll be a new makeup on our screens. Nike's tennis line has ...

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Between QS, inline, TZ and Bespoke, we're assailed with Nike Air Force 1s at the moment. Just when you thought the shoe that helped stoke the hype should've been put to bed, a ton a of new makeups (Futura seemed to lead a charge with regards to clean makeups with a hint of originality) arrive. The Air Force 1 High is one of the greats, superseded by the Mid on UK-shores when these arrived here in a major ...

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We knew the Nike Hyperdunk 2010 would be a worthy sequel, but the launch of the Hyperfuse seemed to eclipse this design at last week's NYC launch. While LunarLite is the runner's choice, for basketball, it doesn't seem to fare so well, seemingly unable to take the bumps, and losing responsiveness over time. For the second Hyperdunk, it's gone. Looking a lot like a towering version of the Kobe V, it's a lot better than ...

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The 'Turn Right' adidas Micropacer gives a shoe with a serious fanbase something a little different. This isn't one for all tastes—where the other signage-themed shoes stay weird but clean, the Micropacer gets the most garish reworking. Then again, it's hardly a shoe renowned for subtlety—trainers with silver in the makeup and a built-in digital readout can barely call minimalist status. Still, despite some obvious exceptions (we're looking in your direction, George Lucas—yeah, you ...

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First things first—the Nike Hyperfuse is a shoe that's going to change sneaker design. Nike like to broadcast these things in style too. Lately we've been getting all nostalgic for the Beaverton running experiments of the late '70s, where mesh was a breakthrough material in the quest to strip things down to the bare minimum. But mesh on a basketball shoe? We've seen it before, but they're not synonymous with the sport. You might have ...

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The adidas Superstar has had a good run of it lately, but we still like to see a spot of variety. This workwear ('Workwhere?') themed version is definitely different. From a distance we approached it with a certain brevity, assuming it was some kind of brown suede creation. Then we noticed how weird it actually is. Presumably based on a blue-collar working uniform, this makeup's eccentricity sails above the mundane day-to-day existence. It's strange. Where do we start ...

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Has any shoe been more of a whipping boy for a whole miserable subculture than the Nike Dunk High? It's still an excellent design that works well. There's just not much more that you can do with it except regress a little. While we're loving Fuse, Lunar and Flywire technologies, for the time being, they have no place on a design dating back to 1985. These cropped up in the showroom late last year with no hoo-ha ...

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The adidas Consortium adiCup packs are surprisingly on-point. Not because we doubted adidas's abilities, but because tie-in releases with top-tier status can have a tendency of getting a little too Rolex and prawn sandwich. Now it's begun and everyone's a football expert for a month. The World Cup releases have been plentiful so far. Some have been good. Others not so good. These releases are well-executed. Like Dennis Busenitz's adidas Skateboard pro model, which took a ...

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How about we indulge in some good old-fashioned puritan-baiting with the inclusion of the Pointer Comme des Garçons collection? It feels like that kind of day. We've seen the Pointer footwear brand pick up in popularity a helluva lot. To see a UK indie prevail and crucially, evolve (despite a personal prejudice against laceless footwear) has been refreshing and pretty inspirational. It couldn't happen to a nicer crew, and when Pointer's Gareth Skewis isn't being a ...

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A low key release that keeps bringing it, the Nike Challenger retros are still keeping us happy in a time of mediocrity. The black versions the other week, resurrecting this runner that was cutting edge back in '79, are superb. Their partner makeup is this extremely clean variation in grey, white and violet. No gimmicks, no foolishness...and no madcap football focus welded onto what's a defiantly running design. Once the epitome of Bill Bowerman's stripped-away vision, the ...

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Part of a collection that takes notions of workwear to their literal conclusion, this adidas Forum Mid is a fine execution. We like our Forums kept clean, seeing as it's a top 5, dead or alive in its mid-cut form. It would be nice to see a measure of how popular this model was in the Boston hip-hop scene back in the late '80s and very early '90s. After all, that was an adidas city, and we've seen ...

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Perforations can elevate a standard shoe to a higher level, and this Nike Dunk High AC, part of the 'Micro Perf' pack is evidence of that. The Dunk is part of a trio with a faintly out-of-place component in the shape of a perfectly servicable Air Force 1 — don't get us wrong, we don't want to see an Autoclave Uptown. No sir. The Harlem and DC appeal of the Foamposite AF1? Yes - we're feeling that spaceage styling ...

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No seasonal roster from Originals is complete without multiple adidas Samba sightings. Looking at what's set for next month, we've seen two good examples — we know there's a "story" here with one of the makeups showcased here, but we've stuck it alongside a plainer, but no less effective variation. Why? Just for sake of it. They both look great. Having grown up with the flatter, narrower, indoor-friendly Samba Super on sale at bargain prices rather than ...

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The adidas Top Ten Hi is pretty untouchable in our eyes, but it seems to have suffered some odd executions of late. You can't top the original white, red and navy colourway that the shoe originally dropped in — we last saw that makeup earlier last year, and the aesthetic standards remain. Undefeated's version with Estevan Oriol on board was an overlooked banger too that brought out the best in the Top Ten, but who's got that kind ...

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We're late with this one, but the Nike F.C.R.B. Rejuven8 Mid might be our favourite shoe of the year thus far. The New Balance Japan 1300 reissue is vying with it for top spot. Now that's two extremes right there. At the end of the year we tend to get criticism fired our way about top ranking pieces in the end of year review getting no shine here. In the case of the F.C ...

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You know one thing we'll never fully understand? Why Nike didn't put out the other colourways of the Nike Air Mariah PR to follow the first retro. Instead, we're seeing some new makeups. Sheeeeeeet...we even got ACG-themed variations while the speckled White Amethyst versions were still sat in the archives at Nike WHQ. Odd. We'd love to see the Mariah Personal Record in all its original splendour before it gets new shades applied. But life ...

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adidas Originals knows how to nail a dual-label with Japan's very best, and this mastermind JAPAN Consortium release is an interesting one. In the current climate, if it's black, Tokyo-affiliated, with skulls in the design, that's the key to sales. Still riffing with minimum chord progressions through that punk rock aesthetic, mastermind's output still maintains an edge - the costs are no joke and the collaborations have been pitch perfect. Especially the Visvim and Goyard ones. The ...

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While they're innovating technologies at an unnerving rate that we don't think folks are quite ready for, Nike are happy to strip it down with designs like the Zoom Toki. The increasingly familiar Nike Match and All Court might have a legacy that stretches back to 1973, but the equally simple Zoom Toki is a new-jack. We were pretty impressed by the Tier Zero versions, particularly the marl greys, that counteracted the horror of the Flight Light and ...

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2013

• June (12)
• May (24)
• April (24)
• March (26)
• February (27)
• January (28)

crooked tongues magazine News Features

New Balance MS574 'Sonic Pack'

Jordan Flight 45 White/Spice/Wolf Grey

Nike Air Max Liquid Racer Black/Aqua/Red

Air Jordan 1 High Wolf Grey/Spice

Nike Zoom Kobe V 'Throw it Down Shannon Brown'

More Air Jordan 1 High makeups

PUMA Comp Star

Nike Lunar Presto Rejuven8 Black/Orange

New Gourmet Uno makeups

Air Jordan Alpha 1 Chocolate/Black

More PUMA Dallas makeups...

Nike Air Maxim 1 "Omega"

Converse SICKS Q&A

Nike Air Force 1 High Foamposite

Nike Air Max Courtballistec 2.3

More Nike Air Force 1 High & Lows

Nike Hyperdunk 2010

adidas Micropacer 'Turn Right'

More Nike Hyperfuse makeups

adidas Superstar Brown/Black

New Nike Dunk High makeups

adidas Consortium adiCup VOTARY kit packs

Pointer Comme des Garçons - Gareth Skewis Q&A

Nike Challenger Grey/White

adidas Forum Mid RS Orange/Indigo

Nike Dunk High AC 'Micro Perf' QS

More adidas Samba makeups

New adidas Top Ten Hi makeups

Nike F.C.R.B. Rejuven8 Mid

Nike Air Mariah PR White/Red/Black

adidas mastermind JAPAN Hardland

More Nike Zoom Toki makeups

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