For a minute we got a little vexed at the sheer volume of sneakers trying their best not to look like sneakers, blacking them out, coating them with brown hues, and cloning Red Wings. After all, if the brands had no confident in sneakers, surely they were shooting themselves in their wingtip-emulating foot? Then we saw the HTM2, new LeBrons, Lunarwoods, LunarElites and all the rest. That shut us up. Nike Sportswear seems to have a sample size plonked firmly in both camps - the innovative bits as well as the premium reduxes of staples. That's a good thing. We don't want to look like we're riding their tip too hard, but they're doing a particularly decent job at the minute. That said, we'll maintain from the off that we prefer the All Court (anyone else remember the retro pre-APC that no one seemed to bother with?) in low, in canvas.

Those with long memories might remember the deadstock vintage pairs, albeit in mini sizes, that the Crooked Store had back in the day. We prefer our Purcells in canvas too, and the mid has never really blown our minds if we're drawing comparisons with rubber toecap classics, but these are still pretty effective. Not dissimilar to last year's premium leather Blazers in their classy appearance, and perforated branding, but opting for a glossier finish, these feel like a hybrid of '70s simplicity with a faintly formal twist. As a collection, these are good - the greens particularly, work well. Weirdly, they've even got shades of Pro Model in the mix too. Having deviated so far from the formula, maybe the nylon tongue and heel trim feel a little out-of-place, but with shorts when the sun emerges, we're sold, and these should be dropping at 1948 shortly...

This is some of that old classy isht - adidas is no stranger to giving a shoe the luxury treatment, but these are outstanding on the quality front. We don't know if they're a riposte to Nike Sportswear's recent invincible leather Blazers or the current spate of high-end designer pieces for those richer than Richie (RIP Biggie), but the Unforseen Non-Dyed makes its mark with an appearance that's instantly appealing. You can't go far wrong with a monotone upper, minimal branding and a white herringbone patterned sole unit. Especially when that upper looks like an extra-tasteful take on the Jabbar - one of our all-time favourite adidas designs. That unlined upper gives it a certain quasi-formality, but it retains the sparse, less-is-longevity '70s basketball flavour too. Then there's the leather - we know we occasionally lapse into porno-prose when we're talking about anything that isn't rancid-smelling pleather, and we apologise for getting carried-away, but this is truly soft and buttery with none of that gone-in-30-seconds creasing.

Catering to our grizzled seen-it-all worldviews and adidas basketball fetishes, the trio of colours is strong, and while they aren't at the budget end of the footwear spectrum, they feel plush enough to justify that premium pricetag. What's the name about? We don't know oursleves, but we suspect we might see more heritage-informed shoes in the same vein dropping soon. These drop in-store and at Consortium retailers globally this weekend...

Sole Technology owner Pierre Andre's annual PAS collections are usually high concept affairs, but this year's version takes it even further in the theme stakes. Being a dad has evidently altered his already conscious outlook, resulting in the '6th Element' collection shown here. As ever, it's out in low, low numbers, with the collection name reflecting the next generation taking up skating. Using the modified Senix silhouette, Pierre's pro-model, stripped down for a more eco-friendly and contemporary look, the three makeups here are pretty in-your-face, but they get an unexpected cutesy factor via the mini child-size variants, with all six shoes set to drop at Tokyo's Beams store today.




Seeing as we're aging rapidly and seeing fatherhood left, right and centre, this feels pretty relevant, and as these models cover Revolution (red, white and blue), Reflection (shiny) and Evolution (aged leather and nubuck), it needs a talk through from the man behind them to really flesh out the design rationale...

Hi Pierre, fatherhood's been a recent thing for you - has it changed the way you look at the etnies and the Sole Technology brands? You were environmentally focused before, but has it fueled that obsession even more?

Yes, definitely. Having Mateo really confirmed that what I’ve been doing with the environment is the right thing to do. I’ve always lived my life knowing that you need something to do, something to look forward to and something to share – that hasn’t changed, it’s just emphasized to me that I need to keep doing it!

PAS is an annual drop, but how did this one come about? Had you been dabbling in the idea of fatherhood as a theme for a little while now?

Being a father, I truly understand that it’s not just about me. With 2010 ushering in the sixth generation of skateboarders, it was a perfect opportunity for me to explore doing something for Mateo and acknowledge the new generation coming up.

Representing six generations of skating as the underlying theme, it's crazy to think that the sport's hit that point - what generation do you consider yourself part of? At a guess, we'd put seeing you in magazines and videos alongside Don during the freestyle, SIMS era at third generation, but I've seen you talking about the late '70s - would you consider yourself second generation?

I am part of the 2nd generation since I started skating in 1978 when I was 15 years old. It was actually a hard time in skateboarding because it was kind of falling off. There were only like 50 of us skating in Paris at the time and we didn’t have much support. When I became more visible in the 80’s with being pro and then had the opportunity to bring etnies to the US, it was a driving factor for me to make sure that I could keep fueling the industry in order to make sure it was always supported and never dropped off again.

Did your dad encourage you to pick up a board or discourage it as a hobby? Do you recall any first generation skaters who influenced you locally? Do you still see any of them?

My dad was so great! I remember the first time I showed him my skateboard, he took it and did a handstand on it! Haha! He was around 50 years old at the time – so funny! Little did he know that I would end up appearing in magazines doing handstands too! I never knew any of the 1st generation skaters, but I do still know some of the 2nd gens…Jeremy Henderson and I did a collaboration board and etnies shoe for SHUT’s 20 Year Anniversary. It was really cool because we told this story about What Goes Around Skates Around – it was the story of how we met in Paris way back in the day and where life finds us today.

What constitutes the Sixth Element of skating? As a life cycle, it's altered so dramatically in just 40+ years...as a company, are you constantly trying to bridge that gap between paying tribute to the older "legends" who paved the way and the youngsters who'll push skating forward even more?

We need to support this new generation of skateboarders and how we do this is by recognizing them and the culture that they are now contributing to creating. Skateboarding is deep in its roots, so by sharing those stories, remembering the legends and key moments in it, we can embrace the new generation and they can share with us this experience. At the end of the day, we are all skateboarders and that’s what keeps us pushing forward.

This is a high-concept collection with the Revolution, Reflection and Evolution themes...the way they've been worked into the Senix makeups is pretty literal - starting with Revolution, we interpret the balance of the flag colours and the basic look mixed with more complicated elements as representative of the global spread of skating and the primitive skate hobbyism giving way to the "urethane wheel era"...Then there's the Reflection makeup - did having a son make you rethink everything up to this point? What are your perceptions of where skate culture will be when he picks up a board? In skating, even a decade seems to lead to vast evolutionary leaps in terms of tricks, technical ability and ambition.

Well…we’re off to a good start because Mateo already loves riding with me. I take him on the board and he stands with me while I ride – it’s so fun to be able to share this with him. My hope for Mateo is that as he encounters skateboarding that he enjoys it as much as I do. Skateboarding will allow him to build his self esteem, it will sharpen him in how he tackles challenges since as a skateboarder, I learned to look at obstacles in a different way – it has shaped how I approach life. I want him to build confidence as he grows and realize that his hopes and dreams can become possibilities and ultimately reality. I believe he’ll experience all of this when he is big enough to pick up his first board.

On the reflection subject, lately in the office we've been talking about some of the amazing vert guys like Jeff Phillips who we worshiped as kids, but ended up as victims of an evolving industry - do you feel that their story should be told to the next generation too, as today's pro could be superseded by kids getting their first setup?

What matters as we reflect on things that have taken place is to reflect positively on each other. We have to learn from the past and encourage each other to continue to defy convention – no matter who we are as skateboarders.

The Evolution makeup lets you give a shoe some wrinkles! Do you hope to pass what you've built onto your son?

Good question! Sure, I hope everything that I build is passed on to my son to build into his future. But it is so much more that – I do what I do in order to share with everyone that works with me – it’s about growing together in life and experiencing all of what life has to offer together!

Do these pairs come packaged with the kids' versions? We've not seen that done before...

They can be purchased separately, but I designed it as a set that goes together. When I wear a pair, I put a pair on Mateo – it’s pretty cool.

Each PAS collection can't be cheap to put together in such limited numbers - are these drops just labours of love, or are they something that might inform the etnies brand at inline level? Does this preempt a push on etnies models in tiny sizes in coming seasons?

It’s a combination – definitely a labour of love, but the fun part is that I work with a close group of designers through the whole process in order to inspire them in some of the things I introduce. But, it goes beyond design – I use it to push our factories to make our shoes greener – we have transparency facts on each of the boxes that show how we work with the footwear process to push for low carbon emissions. The smaller runs allow us to demonstrate how we want things to be done – my hope is that we can roll this out on a larger level to make more of a carbon reduction impact!

As far as the kids side of things – we’ve been doing kids shoes since 2000 and just a few years ago we introduced this new etnies Grow With Me shoe for toddlers where we worked with our Sole Technology Institute lab to develop a new fit system that has a two-step process to give children the best fit possible, and to increase the length of time a child can wear the shoe. It’s a pretty cool thing for parents to check out – Mateo wears his etnies all of the time – of course!

We're big, big fans of the store, but why Beams exclusively for this drop?

When I started doing the etnies PAS Collection in 2006, I launched it with the Gratitude Collection, which was during our 20 year anniversary. I designed it and gave it to retailer owners globally who helped make us a successful brand. From there, we decided to keep the collection evolving and each year, we pick a different part of the world and we focus on one retailer with the one collection. It’s great because in essence we’re taking this collection on a world tour, just one year at a time and one retailer at a time.

Are you already thinking about the next PAS collection? Wouldn't next year be the 25th anniversary for the brand?

Yes of course! But, I’m not going to say any more to give it away! More to come in 2011!

Just when we got bored with the state of sneakers, the trinity of Hiroshi, Tinker and Mark returns, bringing another Mark - performance design ace and Innovation Kitchen denizen Mark Smith, for HTM2. If that doesn't excite you from a conceptual point-of-view we feel bad for you son. So what do we get this time? Some nice Uptowns with contrast stitching and plush leathers? Nope. HTM2 is simply that next sh*t. This here is a site built on the back of the Alpha Project's classics, and the development of Presto. Just as say, Marc Newson's Zvezdochka sold modestly before informing the next generation of madcap modular pieces, designs we felt underachieved like the Presto Tent (not a shoe we liked from an aesthetic standpoint) and the Sock Dart (underrated) weren't in vain - they led to silhouettes like the Run Boot. And that's something to be extremely thankful for. This isn't some cobbled-together tribute to obnoxious futurism either - it's a genuine performance creation that's got us momentarily hyped - usually laceless creations aren't our thing, but that perforated forefoot layer and vast, flexible Free 7.0 sole unit is an exception to the rule.

Looking like an Aqua Sock on steroids, this succeeds at design and comfort level. Where the Rift and Footscape sequels were a bloody letdown on some 'Robocop II' flex, this could have been marketed as a Presto follow-up with that reinforced heel and elasticated upper, but fortunately it's way more than a rehash. A lot more. To opt to use this experimental, high-end wing of Nike as a launchpad for next gen pieces rather than tried and tested ones is a serious statement-of-intent. We don't play that old "street art" nonsense, but that forefoot Swoosh branding that's seemingly sprayed on, looks incredible, building on that ol' Haze Dunk funk, and Tinker's distinctive lettering for the logo is deep too. The contrast rubber toe on this black and white (the best of the bunch) makeup is a little bit Chuck Taylor, Jack Purcell or All Court, but that doesn't hinder the progressive spirit in the slightest. Waterproofed and available in high and low variants Alas, no fancy slide-out boxes this time, but we get the distinct impression that Portland and Tokyo's own Crooklyn Dodgers style supergroup didn't put this one together with hoarding in mind. The HTM2 Run Boot should be arriving at Tier Zero hotspots like London's 1948 very soon.

Like you, we've spent a great deal of time trying to ascertain as to whether anyone's actually fighting the good fight and dropping those future classics. We thought pieces like the Beacon were the ones, but the sole unit splits office opinion (are there shades of that performance aesthetic in the Torch pieces?) but now it seems the Nike Running line is building a new legacy that'll spare us the pioneering but increasingly over saturated retro runner onslaught. We liked the Lunar debut a lot, and the LunarLite technology led to some even more appealing shoes - last year's Run Avant+ in particular was a thing of beauty, and the toebox Swoosh on it harked back to '97's Zoom Air glories - as with that progressive period, where slimline Air freed up designers to innovate, Lunar technology seems to be doing the same. We don't even have to kid ourselves that we're seeing an influx of modern classics either. The LunarElite is one of the best new shoes we've seen in a while.

Designed as a tempo trainer for folk across the everyman spectrum of underpronation to moderate overpronation, this is a serious shoe. It's not using the Henry Ford approach to colourways and it's not hipster friendly. Those are good things by the way. We've singled out this green, blue and white makeup just because it evokes some memories of an early '90s neoprene breakthrough that had the playground going nuts, but other colourways bang too - beyond the tricked-out waffle outsole, that's as referential as this one gets. That fine 'DYNAMIC SUPPORT' branding on the medial side of the midsole brings to mind the mighty Structure II - but that's our own feverish imaginations running riot in the search for old shoes to evoke.

Where, just a few years back, it seemed almost vulgar to make cutting edge runners look visually pleasing, as the Pegasus line was too busy performing to scrub up prior to the 2008 redesign, the introduction Lunar and Flywire just allowed for some extremely good looks. That foam also keeps it stupid light and the wire keeps the foot in place - this one breathes, no-sew just won't allow a product to get clunky, and these are particularly comfortable straight out the box. Shit, when we have a crisis over our ailing-officebound health, we'll even consider running in these too. Even the memory foam in the collar has been worked in with a certain design savvy - other brands, step your game up. The era of the defiantly ugly athletic shoe seems to be winding to a close thanks to liberating technologies than won't make you look like a local simpleton when you twin them with denim on a day without exercise. The Lunar Elite is out at NikeTown now...

How hard did the Nizza come back in the last 18 months? We'd long ignored them beyond the blue and white versions, but we've finally accepted them as a decent adidas heritage piece that encapsulates a craving for simple stuff that doesn't seem to be subsiding. We even had our name attached to some distressed versions that split opinion in the office - for the record, we prefer them pristine. It only takes a week to 'vintage' white canvas - and that's when you're treading relatively carefully. What really gave this kick a kickstart was the well-timed Porter collaboration last year, the best of the dual-brand Nizzas (though the LimitEDitions one worked well too) in the Five-Two 3 project - the black nylon, white toecap, orange lining, tongue label and accompanying bag made the whole package make a lot of sense. The rear zip on the shoe didn't feel laboured, and could shake off Visvim rip-off comments too. Inevitably, they sold with a certain brevity.

Normally overt nods to a previous limited edition that enter the inline collection feel a little cheap in approach and execution, but this selection uses the same zip Nizza Hi upper, with the rear fastening covered inside to stop your heels being turned to mincemeat, and works pretty well. A black version is a little close for comfort, but the other shades are good, and as a shoe that can be a pain to throw on, even without those expensive luggage associations, we can see the point of that zip application.

We don't know what triggered the Rod Laver's resurrection - maybe we'll never know, like the undead in a Romero movie, but we're happy that there's two variations currently doing the rounds at top tier level. Last year's vintage onslaught left us a little overwhelmed, and truth be told, we overlooked a few makeups as a result, but adidas isn't done yet, letting a few Consortium partners got back for more - UNDFTD dropped a navy one last month, and with a monotone upper style that evokes the simplicity of DQM's Tier Zero Dunks, the Bowery retail institution has engineered a trio of makeups.These navy, green and lemon versions of the shoe make more sense, given the brand's basic apparel output for this season. Just as the clouds part, and a new season starts, the warm weather pieces start rolling out - leather, mesh and suede on the lacestays keeps a simple formula well-honed, and these drop here and in other Consortium retailers on the 13th of this month. Big things are in the pipeline from the Consortium side of things as well as Originals By Originals for the rest of the year, and the smaller scale collaborative projects like this are paying more dividends than a collective avalanche of dual label pieces...

Beckham's reinterpretation of the Laver? What can we expect? Diamonique? Golden contrast stitching? Ummm...none of the former bad taste applications. In fact, caffeinated Friday afternoon good spirits aside, we'd actually go as far as saying that this is the best Rod Laver makeup beyond the original brace of makeups back in the day we've seen to date. And best of all? it uses the Rod Laver Super shape rather than the vintage version (which is admittedly a little more "on trend" in the current mood for all things spartan and simple) - the chunkier Laver is the one we grew up with, hobbled in, admired the light weight despite the width and dirtied up in a matter of hours. It's one of the greatest updates of any model ever, and a top 5 adidas shoe if we had to compile an all-time greats list. You might have gathered that we really like this shoe.


The barely branded, suede-toed DB version isn't even that much of a step from a colourway that already existed. It just hones the classic formula. On a recent visit to a US adidas outlet, the green and white Rod Laver in this shape was all that was on our mind - despite being plentiful on these shores circa 2002, when Foot Locker was stacked with leather and canvas versions, they seemed to dry up over here as soon as the slimmer version was re released. Co-designer James Bond is evidently a Laver-head, with two UNDFTD versions already beneath his belt, but this trumps them both, and the Mini Milk white translucent sole unit is the icing on the cake. That application added some ballast to this design, but we most certainly aren't mad. The best Originals By Originals release to date? Quite possibly. The ruler's back. And no freebies changed hands in exchange for this hyberbolic praise either. These are available in the in the Crooked store now...

When Nike declare that they're holding a "summit" and you get an invite, for the most part, it means you should attend for sheer spectacle alone. Football boots on Crooked Tongues sounds like an odd move, but while they're hardly as functional for casual wear - tottering to the newsagent on studs isn't a good look, but we feel like flag burning non-patriots when our World Cup coverage is confined to trend-led interpretations alone. So we're going to talk Nike Football here. After last November's Bono-endorsed (RED) team up, for "Lace up, save lives" which, despite our frequent shots at the perma-shaded U2 frontman, is a fantastic initiative that we back 100 percent, Nike Football stepped their event game up with a big-budget launch for their new shoe and kit technologies at Battersea Power Station last night. Spacious surroundings are often the harbinger of what can safely be assumed will be a big deal, and the venue of choice is a monster.


We'd been promised technology that would impress us, even with our inept skills on the pitch, and Nike didn't disappoint. We were impressed with last year's Italian-made Mercurial Vapor Superfly boot, built for speed, and absurdly light, vying with the Lunar running pieces at the moment on the mind-boggling technology front, but after an intro from Mark Parker in a suit and Footscape with (RED) lace ensemble, Trevor Edwards showcased the new Nike Football+ system, working with social media like Twitter and Facebook, before Nike Football Design Director Andy Caine introduced us to the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II (shouldn't it be "Vapour" when we're talking football? We're just saying...) - and it's a serious piece of design work.


You all know Flywire by now, but NIKE SENSE adaptive traction for the studs on the boot is that next level, extending and retracting by up to 3mm, dependent on a player's pressure and the ground conditions. It certainly won't be at the budget end of the boot spectrum when it's released to the world on April 1st, but we're assuming they'll be grabbing some screen time in South Africa this Summer via the quicker players on the brand's books. Proving that delays aren't just confined to Easyjet and Ryanair customers, even Cristiano Ronaldo was subject to a substantial delay in getting to the venue, but he arrived to take part in a boot-centric Q&A before an audience interrogation got a little edgy, including the topic of Chelsea's amorous Mr. Terry, resulting in a cheery "No comment my friend!"


Today there's a wear testing session with more guests planned big announcements on the kit front. With the pressures of retail sparing us the shame of missed goals and 2 left feet, we'll be taking a closer look at the Mercurial Vapor Superfly II in this News section very soon (with proper photography!), but in the meantime, here's a short interview with Andy Caine who, alongside his design team, is the man behind the boot, so to speak -

Are you a football player yourself?

Not as good as these guys!

Did you try them out?

Yeah, I did. One of the things as a designer is that you're very curious to know how it feels and fits. This new traction system is also one of the most comfortable things we've ever made. The pressure distribution system is very even across the board.

What's with the colours?

The colours really come from a bit of science. There's the purple and the glow-in-the-dark colour so when you're running you get dark to purple, and that, bounced of the grass gives you a "flicker" which engages the peripheral vision. So there's more to it than just colours. The colour thing really came from Didier Drogba. He has a real affinity for understanding the fine detail in football boots.

So this one shoe isn't built with Drogba in mind?

No, for all players, traction is a big thing.

Why is traction such a big thing?

It's important. If you look at the stats, if someone slips, when you're a defender or an attacker - if you're a defender and you slip, the attacker can get in. If you're an attacker and you slip, you lose your chance. If you think of Ronaldo and Pato, they're all extremely fast and extra dynamic, and they have a lot of game-changing moments and you don't want to lose any of them. Traction for them is super critical.

Do any players ask for individual modifications?

Very few with Mercurial. Cristiano started wearing this boot when he was 15. Theo Walcott's the same. They're used to the fit and feel of this and there aren't too many modifications that we do for players - much of it is literally out the box and on the feet.

What's the strangest modification you've made?

We don't get a lot of odd requests. They're very serious with their boots. A better boot makes you a better player. So the partnership between us and the players is actually very good. Last year I spent 65 days traveling to meet these types of players. They're very busy people so they respect us.

How many players were involved in those 65 days?

We had a lot of the big players. Ronaldo, Drogba, Pato, Eduardo, Theo, Babel - we go to all of them. Quite a lot of players, and a good level of player too.

As a designer, which of the new innovations are you most proud of?

If you understand industrial design, the idea of designing a stud that moves is beyond complex. We have spent a lot of time designing and engineering it. We're pretty stoked about it if I'm being honest. The colours are pretty cool. We're pretty pleased with how this came out. It's an improvement on the last one - it's a revolution on the last one.

Has safety been considered in the Superfly II?

Yes. This composite is multiple set layers. It's been molded from the ground up. The components are more durable than they've ever been. It's actually less layers. It's lighter weight too. Protection is the key factor.

How long does a Nike football boot take to develop?

It depends on the shoe. It can be anything from 18 months to 4 years. We started developing around 2 and a half years ago.

How many prototypes did you go through leading up to the finished article?

We went through 43 versions of the upper leading up to the finished one. We slow motion filmed every boot to see that the boots are working. The studs are the result of 5 steps and there's a lot of process in those steps. To create a boot like that is really complicated. We've been testing for the last 2 years.

How do you test them?

We do lab testing, testing how durable they are. Slow motion filming, traction testing, on pitch real-life testing - we do that around-the-globe to get better perspectives. We do that a lot.

Was there a "Eureka" moment?

If you look at the science of it, we have an amazing facility in Portland - when you're working with those guys, we have bio-mechnical specialists looking at what we're doing, and you can see for yourself what you're after, but when the specialists say, 'That's perfect" you know you've nailed it. Then you test again. Can we get more? That's probably why there was 43 - you get to like, 35 and do this that and the other to see if it makes a difference. A professional athlete like Cristiano's training for 5 hours a day in his boots 7 days a week so it has to work.

Has the notion of retractable studs something that's been on the cards since Nike Football started? Is it an ideal?

It was probably a dream. The idea isn't to create a stud that moves - it's the benefit it brings. What benefit can we bring to the players. It's not about just making something we can make.

When you start the boot design process, what's the first thing you do?

A lot of it is the vision of what we wanted to achieve. The vision was to create the fastest boot we could make. And also, take speed to the next generation of what we can do, and the concept of adaptability came out of the first vision. Strategizing what we want to do. Once we have what I call "the vision" then you can start putting the pieces into place. Sketching starts at various different levels. Some testing things - "What about this?" "What about that?" Sketching then prototypes, more sketching, more prototypes - a whole evolve and grow process.

On hearing that David Beckham was dropping a whole 'DB' line as part of the Originals By Originals collection, we were sceptical, anticipating a ton of white-on-white Stan Smiths, Forum Lo and maybe a ZX 700 Boat or two. We may have even smirked, seeing as the company he was keeping consisted of the mighty Alyasha of Fiberops fame, Fragment's Kazuki and Jeremy Scott, but from the off, it erased the smugness with a strong level of quality control. Getting UNDFTD's James Bond in was a shrewd move, and his concepts have been of a consistently high standard so far.


We really like the Rod Laver Super reworking this season, which matches the ace ZX 8000 in the desirability stakes round these parts, but these premium reworkings of the Gazelle Vintage...recognisable by the heel tab and sole unit rather than the less slender moc-toed upper, are pretty good. The brown panel sets things off nicely, and the suede around the collar is appealing too. Whereas the current moc/boat themed shoe-nami is skimping on the little details, these feel a bit more cohesive than usual updates of your favourite designs. They've got golden balls to be tinkering with a training design that remains a sacred cow to the present day, but that football link makes this model seem significantly less outlandish, and the end result is pretty classy. Trust us - when we saw the name "Gazelle Mid" we feared the worst. Sometimes it's nice to be proven wrong. Are three are on sale now in the Crooked store.

We like the word Gipfel. We think it means 'Summit' in German, and it sounds right for an adidas shoe - this offroad-looking Torsion basketball creation is ill. Channeling the looks of the recently resurrected Artillery (which we first saw retroed recently in a modified Jeremy Scott variation for Originals By Originals) it cranks up the militaristic aspects of the shoe and makes for an interesting break from previous Kazuki adidas designs, with an upper in ballistic nylon, nubuck and leather with a contrasting midsole. In this collection Kazuki's been doing big things with hi-tops as well as the low-key pieces like his tremendous Campus, and this is an unexpected break from the usual. Where the Originals partner here succeeds is in his apparent understanding of the little things as well as the staggeringly obvious design-wise, and by giving this duo a similar palette to his first round of MT Boots (recently given a sequel), with a coloured collar complementing a predominantly monotone upper, they're not the most commercial silhouette by any means, but the Gipfel's reference points are well-rendered. Both are on sale now in the Crooked store.

The current solution to everything is to festoon it with D-rings until the blogs and kids that pretend not to care about sports footwear listen up, but few really pull it off with any aplomb - Nike dropped a couple of fine Terminators that were an unlikely candidate to take to this mode of fastening but worked well, Gourmet's Tredici benefits from luxury leathers and the MT Boot, introduced year ago in the debut Kazuki adidas drop is another great example of offroad looks done right. Where it stumbled visually was from the mix of eyelets that lacked consistency, and for Spring its been revised in line with adidas's legacy of subtle, tweaked sequels - fully D-ringed now with a better mix of pigskin and premium leathers and a non-glossy tongue tape, it's a better shoe - and if you recall our hyperbolic end-of-year summary, we were big on it the first time around.

The key to this silhouette's appeal is that it doesn't attempt to conceal the running shoe inspiration - the sloped shape takes to a more rugged, technical look with ease, and the nylon mesh keeps it from being cumbersome or heavyweight, and while there's no "give" in that toebox, in the right size (use your usual adidas footwear formula) they're incredibly comfortable too. The Campus and 7-Hole designs were excellent, justifying the hype and high-end RRP of this line, but this is still the shoe that sold us on Kazuki's Originals By Originals vision from day one. We're still suckers for "THE BRAND WITH THE 3 STRIPES" lettering on the lower tongue and the beauty of Dellinger webbing, and while that white makeup is pretty conventional, it reminds us of the fine 'Animal' ZX 600 from early 2007 and is as clean as they come, while the black version feels like a return to one of the original colours. The way the padded tongue fits isn't too all tastes, but it works well for us, especially during this madcap weather. Both makeups are available now in the Crooked store now...

After clocking these in the Nike showroom last year, our next exposure was through one of those strange YouTube videos where someone gets an early pair in the unlabeled box and then tries to fill four minutes talking about them. We salute those dudes, because we have issues trying to shoehorn information into paragraphs, let alone flash video. But the Spiz'ike gives you a hell of a lot to talk about. You could talk about the mix of III, IV and VI, or the colourway cues and all - in fact we know a fair few people who could probably dedicate video the length of Ken Burns's 'JAZZ' to tell you how much they loathe this model, welding together all their favourites in a big blob of classic Hatfield design. We used to be on the fence until we saw New Yawkers pulling this shoe off in spectacular fashion, and on a visit to the P-Town Nike employee store in late '07 on the day the cement makeup hit, and we witnessed some mild pandemonium. That was refreshing to see, and it was the closest we've seen to getting the cement IV retroed again, regardless of recent rumours. That was the point when we decided this shoe wasn't the antichrist and was actually pretty wearable. The subsequent wave of hybrids like that Air Tech Challenge mashup seemed less well thought-out. Even the Winter Boot was sick.

If you wanted the actual IV in this makeup, stop crying - you had your chance in '08, even though you were obliged to take some XIXs too. It'd be nice to get the option to pick that up on its own without the doublepack obligation, but it's an all-time great Nike colourway. As with the VI retro with the varsity red, for some reason, durabuck's been kiboshed again here in favour of suede. We're not used to materials getting better on shoes - it's a reverse of the usual build quality devolution that retros seem to carry. And how can we be puritanical when we're talking about a shoe that looks this crazy? We're also pleased that something bearing Spike's name is actually good at the moment, because 'Miracle at St. Anna' let us down, and 'Kobe Doin' Work' lacked 'Zidane's magnetic intensity, and that haunting Mogwai score. The best Spiz'ike to date, and they're on sale here in the store now...

"Don't think - feel!" Can we have a late pass? We just realised that we had these in the office, but didn't actually put them in the News. That's the pressures of retail in effect, but any excuse to feature the fifth football-inspired Kobe is a given, and this curious low-cut, no-sew design was one of last year's best. Admittedly, it got eclipsed in our affections by the LeBron VII, but that was an exceptional release. If it was any other year, Mr. Bryant would have ruled the roost, but King James conquered the crown right there. We like Bruce Lee too - almost as much as that obnoxious I.T. man in 'The Office' did, and if 'Game Of Death' had been the film that Bruce wanted it to be, it would've been classic - instead, it's just a series of incredible scenes punctuated by post-passing, hastily cobbled together mediocrity. What does rule, is the fight against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and that John Barry score - one of the greatest combinations in cinematic history.

Bruce's jumpsuit and sneakers have achieved a certain immortality, getting riffed on in 'Kill Bill' too, and while we'd usually associate the look with Onitsuka, and subconsciously, adidas via the Jabbar association, Nike have built on Bruce fan Kobe's preoccupation through this makeup, and it's pretty good. The campaign isn't as striking as the LeBron 'Chamber of Fear' campaign, but this does the silhouette no harm, even adding an homage to the chest slashes Lee gets from a desperate Han's claw in 'Enter The Dragon' too. A stolen rice cake motif or ice sole to capture the 'Big Boss'/'Fists Of Fury' vibe would've been cool, but this works regardless. This isn't the best Kobe V colourway - if we were offered the previous colours alongside this, we'd make like Jim Kelly and take the rest over it with the, "It's been a big day. I'm a little tired" excuse, but this is a shoe that takes to some crazy combos, as the iD options reveal. Decent nonetheless.

The adidas Consortium line is banging out the good stuff at the moment - this weekend's drop of three running makeups is proof positive that the rollout's on a roll in 2010, but we wouldn't want you to avert your gaze from what the easier-to-obtain pieces are saying this Spring. We briefly hyperventilated about a ZX 5000 that steered from the formula with a certain level of expertise, and these bad boys are set to drop next month too. ZX 500s are classy too. That a design like this dropped in 1984 is taken for granted - this was a shoe ahead of its time, and while few are going to buy it for high mileage training twenty-six years down the line, it hasn't aged in the slightest. In fact they still look the business (that wasn't a reference to any lamebrain Brit clobber/crime flicks either), with one of the meanest outsoles of any runner too. When we got the call to rework a shoe for aZX, like the footwear magpies we are, we went Softcell and Torsion, but there was some serious debate as to whether we should keep it more timeless with this silhouette. That yellow, black and grey could have worked a treat here too.

Fortunately there's another failsafe combo (witness that 8000 from last month) that wins each time - the EQT palette. Green, white, grey and black kills it - Supports, Racers, Cushions and Racings are that next wave after the ZX changed the brand's design language in an appropriately classy way, and with a little nod here, we're impressed. This season's ushered in some banging - actually, that sounds a little vulgar when we're talking sublime shoes so we'll rephrase it - superior makeups of this '80s performance dynasty, and with the mesh, leather, synthetic materials, black ghilly lacing system and perforations on the heel, this is another hard-to-hate, condensed adidas history in a shoe that we'll have in-store for March.

Friends and family editions of any shoe are an excuse to go crazy without having to explain yourself to irate fanboys. Promo means you can do whatever you like. Anything within a certain reason. When we heard there was a limited edition Future Sole Jordan I, we had visions of what it could look like - a 'drawn on' style application in line with the project's ethos? A makeup inspired by the previous year's winning entry? Actually, what we got was a good exercise in restraint, on the high silhouette, carrying the more padded tongue of the Phat line. The upper carries a net-pattern Scotchlite-style reflective material for a touch of dazzle effect that doesn't reveal it until the light hits it right, and matching the Future Sole logo on the heel, the traditional red, black and white is quietly disseminated across the upper is a tasteful way to implement those Bulls colours too. Red on the outsole is all a little Louboutin too - but that's us idiotically speculating to fill paragraphs - red soles on a one really is nothing new.

We're not just saying this because we've got a pair in the office, but the Future Sole Jordan I is one of the best new makeups of the shoe of late. Reflective materials are always crease-tastic, but we already knew that, and these are still pretty hot. Simple done well, and the whole initiative is something we support one hundred percent. Last year's winners were good - shouts to Matthew D. in particular for an outstanding design, shorn of the referential guff old farts like us would chuck at a fresh silhouette. Encouraging the next generation of designers is something that should be taken very seriously, so shouts to team Jordan for making it happen. At present, Nike's on a roll with the technology and new court pieces - Future Sole should keep the industry out of retrospective purgatory for the next decade or so. As Razors in 'The Long Good Friday' put it so unexpectedly eloquently, "Little acorns..." We're anticipating even bigger things for the project this year.

www.nike.com/futuresole

Even if American sports stop and start a little too often for your low Euro attention span, you've got to love the NBA All-Star Weekend. The Slam Dunk competition alone is greatness distilled, and specifically for a few hours of big budget entertainment, we get to see some of the maddest colourways of performance and heritage pieces. With Dallas as the location, it's inevitable that familiar elements of the city are being shoehorned into the All-Star rollout. We're not talking about a sh*tfaced Sue-Ellen here either. For performance makeups we're talking woodgrains from ranch walls, western-style typography on the dubraes/lace jewels (the former if you're a bit fancy, the latter if you're less flamboyant), and just in case that all sounds a little too 'Little House on the Prairie,' we all know the aim of the game from a sponsorship standpoint is to make a splash on court and on camera.




Browns can't cut it there, so there's a healthy dose of borderline-infrared for the Western crew and a hard-to-miss blue for the Eastern crew, all with tree-texture panels complimenting the ultra-progressive looks. The last twelve months have seen some significant breakthroughs for Nike's basketball division, with the Kobe V, LeBron VII, Hyperize and Kevin Durant's KDII - no stranger to crazed colours, dropping. It's been one of the most fruitful periods for hi-top, and in the case of Mr. Bryant, low-top design since the madness of the late '90s, so this is something of a celebration. But Nike also know some of you can't be dealing with the science fiction shoe design for casual wear, and Air Force 1s are an All-Star necessity. You're spoilt for choice for Uptowns this year.


Ghosts in the machine meant we couldn't include either of the highs, but you've probably seen them already. The Tier Zero variation with shades of the recent Futura in the perforated upper, a reflective ankle strap and swoosh, plus a glow-in-the-dark outsole, all in a colourway that reminds us of an old Dunk Lo Pro is crazy, but the four AF1 lows are decent too. Provided you can take patent leather...with silver basketball texture branding. We can, because this weekend is no place for shrinking violets or fading into the background. It's loud, calculated and bombastic, and these shoes are no exception. Dallas-shaped heel embossing bellows the message too., yet these are the most subdued All-Star versions of a shoe we've seen lately. Like we said, All-Star Weekend is a place where the subdued is forsaken. We've got a limited number of the Quickstrike Forces instore now...

While it was actually a decent shoe, the Stussy PRO-Keds Royal release from 2003 that let the dollar circulate seemed to come at a darker time for the brand. We won't mention the Dame-era again (the new Warhol, apparently) but with some tireless promo work, and access to a certain Mr. Ross's BlackBerry contact list is working for us, as the brand stands between heritage honesty and a pick of partners who actually seem to relish the freedom the canvas designs give them as a....well, as a canvas. Our fandom for Uni-Wide marker king Eric Haze aka. SE3 goes deep. We've been guilty of boom-bap pensioner talk in this section before, but having designed the EPMD, and Cold Chillin' logos, made 'Headbanger's Ball' look ill, been integral to some of the most satisfying, out-of-nowhere dual label pieces (we're thinking Tommy Boy, Carhartt and Stussy again here), teamed with NOV, been on record as getting up as early as 1973 and run the kind of clothing brand that fills us with wistful memories rather than the sour ending that so many imploding print tee purveyors have generated, it's safe to say that we're big fans of Haze's career thus far.

Stussy's pick of footwear is a given too. Whatever they co-sign seems to have some authenticity (other than that wack Kubrick that perplexed Shawn late last year, and with Eric on board, our expectations are naturally cranked up heavily. On a trio of Royal Lo silhouettes, some militaristic camo touches, a star pattern and some ultra subtle bleached-out letters on the midsole. The branding on the tongue is executed by the artist, the footbed's been subtly customised, and the packaging is custom created too, echoing the shoes thematically. Since we got a pair in the post last year we've been extolling the wider fit of the Royal - for everyday wear, it's our pick of the PRO-Keds archive pieces. We're still not sure if these are going on sale on these shores, but they're worthy of a showcase here. Thanks to Dante and PRO-Keds, and check the video lookbook here.

If you hunt down Wieden+Kennedy's excellent shelved documentary, you can see sneaker guru and man in the know Thomas Giorgetti, currently making powermoves with Bleu De Paname and Norse's distro, practically spitting at the quality of Jordan II retros. It all comes down to one thing - the OG was that colossal step from the first Jordan installment, ditching the swoosh, and getting all futuristic, with Italian manufacture that made all the difference. This was high-end footwear that could sit alongside the expensive releases of the era, and a genius pieces of design. Anyone who watched 'School Daze' (a great film until the sledgehammer message finale smacks you in the forehead) saw some early Spike brand endorsement with a prolonged scene showing the shoe get cleaned prior to a party scene laden with Dunks. The Skinny Boys wore them well too.

Sadly, as Thomas reinforced, the premium quality makes up a substantial part of the shoe's selling point, and the III would take the flossy aesthetic and ran with it on a revolutionary midsole. As part of the iconic signature line's 25th birthday celebrations, a piece like this (and we've heard talk of an Italian-built retro on the horizon too) might not have the right place of origin on the tag, but using the silver that correlates with last week's shiny Jordan I and an extensive application of Scotchlite-style reflectivity makes this one of the better retro II makeups, next to the Carmelo colourway. Even the shinier panels on the upper aren't killing the overall cleanliness here. As every luxury brand (Christian and Swizzy - huh?) decides they need to get on the high top sneaker bandwagon, we'd prefer it if they took cues from this model, rather than banging out another tiresome Sk8 Hi clone. These are available in the store at the moment.

The adidas Artillery is a stone-cold classic and arguably the best basketball piece to implement Torsion technology. Trust us, we've argued over the matter. Whereas designs like the Bank Shot feel cumbersome when that cutaway came into play, the Artillery is a more refined creation. We recall some aborted resurrections a few years back and it was a serious shoe in its heyday, so when it seemed to make a slightly masked, but visually arresting return in the first wave of Jeremy Scott obyo releases with the addition of a strap, it was swiftly followed by some fine retro highs that were more conventional in appearance and well built. We still prefer 'em in a mid, and we'd clocked some styles on sale abroad at good prices - white/black/yellow and white/blue/orange are winners. The tongue branding is iconic, a weapon against the reign of Flight and Force, and far-from-subtle, the paneling and detailing is impeccable, and the zig-zag toebox stitch was further proof that the design boffins at adidas took the Artillery brief very seriously with a franchise in mind.






At present we're being assailed with All-Star game releases for the impending festivities in Dallas, but as with last year's snake-effect/Scotchlite Forums (which while admittedly scarce on a promo tip only, went undeservedly under-the-radar) these Artillery Mid variations represent well for the Originals division. East and West get red and blue respectively as highlight colours, while a brown leather panel, that, like the barmy reptilian touch from '09 is bound to cause some screwfaces, has a touch of cowboy boot in line with the game's locale. NBA logos, stars and a coastal twist on those tongue details. USA colours are nothing new on an adi basketball piece, and these offer an interesting interpretation. Individually numbered from a run of 250, these are hitting a handful of Consortium accounts in very limited numbers and will be on sale in the Dallas area next weekend. You might just see them on the feet of a few endorsed athletes off-court too.