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Now this right here is a shoe that we needed to talk about in depth. We all see shoes a little earlier than necessary, and after it made some blog and Twitpic rounds a long, long time ago, the Nike SB Koston One has been on the hit list around these parts. Seeing the finished shoe a few months ago conferred that our excitement surrounding the shoe was justified — from the stitching to the tongue branding to the drop-in Lunar midsole, the shoe delivers the mix of innovation and sellable simplicity that SB thrives on.

Is it what we expected when we heard about Koston's switch to Nike? No. We assumed it would be ultra tech, and some kind of skateable Air Max 95/Humara-alike. That's because we're idiots who still think that it's 1998. What you get is inner-tech. Those little nods to '70s, '80s and '90s favourites that doubtlessly reside in Mr. Koston's extensive collection are all present, but they're behind a very contemporary suede surface.

With the Koston One dropping in a week, we caught up with Eric and designer Shaun Carboy in Los Angeles to talk about the shoe's genesis, inspirations and development.

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