crooked tongues magazine News Features

Sequels and shoes are a tricky one. The Nike Air Max dynasty is a good example of an ongoing line that works (even though between 2003 and 2006 there wasn't too much memorable activity) and adidas did quiet tweaks to bestsellers to make them Super. Then there's the wild experimentation of the Jordan line at its peak. But there's also the Footscape II and Rift II — the 'Taken 2's of the shoe world. Like the follow-up to the Besson produced un-PC braindead masterpiece, they pretty much managed to miss every single point of the original's appeal. But this isn't a site for film criticism. Following up a shoe 14 years on, is never a good sign either.

The ACG line offered equally cultish prospects and some have been well served — the Mowabb got a subtle follow-up (we'll pretend that 2003 new edition never happened) and at their peak, they're the Jim Jarmuschs of the shoe world — strange, self-assured objects with character. We don't want a 'Down By Law II' in 2012 though - but some reduxes of All Conditions have been outstanding — the Wildwood birthed the underrated Wildedge and that excellent Wood Wood Lunarwood. Where a sequel can make more sense is to iron out any flaws in the original à la Evil Dead II (sorry, the filmic references are over now) — the Nike ACG Okwahn is part of the ACG line's last blast of real cult classics alongside the Pocketknife.

That late 1990s wave brings back memories of buying Palm Skin Productions 12s on Mo' Wax that we never listened too and sporting Evisus with fancy wallet chains, and while the Okwahn's low profile, rubberised reinforced panels and Humara style nylon straps were outstanding, they were deeply slippy shoes for city wear (weren't they made for rock climbers or something?). The Nike Okwahn 2 is a Nike Sportswear production and it's a fine design that lifts what was good about that shoe (even though the mid-cut hike upwards might offend some purists) and builds on it. Looking like the kind of ACG sequel that might crop up in far eastern spots like Skit (remember all the Moc spinoffs we never saw?) and bypass this country completely, it just works.

That speckled midsole, the return of that rubbery fabric, the branding, the mesh, the tongue label ("Designed and Tested in Beaverton Oregon USA") plus far more grip on the outsole all looks like the work of a designer who reveres the work of Sergio Lozano, Tory Orzeck, Tinker Hatfield, Peter Fogg and Trip Allen. Does it beat the OG? Not quite, because classics have an aura. Does it complement one of our favourites and offer more comfort and traction? Yes, it does and it does it admirably. Those Sertig and Terra Humaras with extra air have been splitting opinion (both Terra rather than ACG, but still trail-themed), but these are a more restrained reinterpretation and these drop next month on the Crooked Tongues store alongside some more colourways.