crooked tongues magazine News Features

At Crooked we're down to spotlight any UK-based developments. After all, we as a nation are the kings of this collaborarations, right? Look at Hanon's fiery Gel Lyte III — that was a killer shoe, but what happens when the remit moves to include a less obvious choice of partner shoe? Footpatrol have been getting on their collaborative grind after a slow start when the store reopened, but the adidas Campus 80s, Fila Trailblazers (a shoe that's a Crooked favourite in its OG form) and an impending Reebok Workout Plus (one of the best in the Workout25 collection), but there's also this Le Coq Sportif project that works with the fine Eclat model. In 2003, we were wowed when Proper reworked the ASICS GT II with real restraint - now ASICS' heritage wing is a force to be reckoned with and hopefully the Le Coq Sportif archives might get some similar love on the back of drops like this.

We love to see less obvious models on a pedestal, and the Eclat falls into that category too — harking back to 1985, the Eclat was a real-deal performance piece from the brand and we think it's the most formidable piece in their archive armoury. While all eyes seem to be on Jordan reissues at the moment, we're seeing interest in retro running gather pace — ASICS and New Balance shoes we couldn't shift a couple of years aren't staying in the store for more than a few days at a time and the ZX series and Nike Tailwind retros disappeared with the quickness. It's heartening stuff. Le Coq's effort is an authentic piece of athletic history and it carries all the hallmarks of a Euro runner of its era, from the ghillie-style lacing system to the suede and nylon mix on the upper. The shape's pretty killer too.

Sticking to the kind of grim functionality that made the original Footpatrol's rare Nike Epic release so wearable in London's damp, cold climate (if you dared to ever break them out of the box), this Eclat colourway is built for all-year wear, with a palette akin to the Livestock adidas Toronto from a few years back. While there's been some Eclats on the market in some equally muted colour schemes lately, it's a shoe that hasn't been given the dual label treatment beyond a strange M&Ms project in 2009 that had some Omega Flame flavour to it but flopped at the last minute with a sickly excess of candy colourways on the outsole. You'll get no such sugary nonsense here - a spot of Scotchlite, Le Coq's triangle merged and subverted with the FP gas mask and Le Coq himself on the side (pause) are as gimmicky as it gets. This is a nice break from the same old same and it drops Friday the 24th of February at Footpatrol, with free socks, two tote bags a £75 pricetag and an 85 pair production run in line with the model's original drop. Good stuff.