crooked tongues magazine News Features

The Nike Blazer 77 is a tremendous look for the subtly evolving basketball icon and that suede and leather mix gives the shoe an extra level of visual appeal. It doesn't feel very much like a mid to us, but that's what the label says, so who are we to argue. This year everything came in animal print or camo (or, in some cases, both). We find that the pseudo high-end excess aesthetics are cool and all, but when the faux luxury is confined to the branding, the byproduct is nearly always better. That look takes it back to a time of DIY custom flair or Far Eastern rare shoe acquisitions. Nike and adidas have made plenty of their classics better with some coldblooded additions and these snake swoosh Blazers 77 add some 1987 ballerdom to a 1977 shoe with some nice accent colour and a scale effect that takes us back to the Stussy versions of the All Court Mid from late 2010 a little. Appropriately, these seemed to get a premiere from Japanese sources but we're getting a couple of these colourways in the Crooked Tongues store next month. Forgive the brevity of this entry but what else is there for us to say other than nice shoes, shame about the yellowed soles? We'll be making a Christmas wish that the production models ditch the fake ageing.Exposed foam and snake is a strong combination that makes these satisfyingly odd.