Nike Air Footscape – Second Look

Sometimes first impressions are wrong; take for example, the Nike Air Footscape. First released in 1995, the Footscape was designed to be Nike’s premier ergonomic running shoe. It boasted light-weight, breathable materials, a foot-forming  sole, and the indistinguishable side lacing. The Footscape captured the best of Nike innovation and their ability to recognize what’s best for athletes. Since being released, the Footscape has been welcomed with lukewarm interest in the States, with most appeal coming from diehard sneakerheads. However, the Footscape is widely popular in Asia (i.e Japan) especially the woven design shown below. And we all know, when it comes to gear the Japanese know what’s fresh.

So why do I like these? Because they’re just different. The materials, shape, and lines of the sneaker are unique and silhouette the natural shape of the human foot.  Most first impressions start and end at “ugly,” but there’s so much more to the sneaker. The story of it alone is worth a second look

The pics below are of the recently released Nike Air Footscape Woven TZ “Striped,” but I doubt this colorway and style will hit the shelves in the States. Don’t worry though, the Footscape is making a comeback this season so watch out for other releases…and while you wait here’s all you could ever want to know about them here.

Pharrell is a PC

What the hell is going on. Pharrell might be cool, but I’m still going to be a Mac.

Keep Company

I recently stumbled on Keep in the latest issue of Nylon. A clothing, shoe and apparel company, Keep was originally started with women in mind and continues to tailor most of its products towards women. Interestingly though, Keep recently became inundated with requests from men to begin carrying their footwear in men’s sizes. Intrigued, I decided to see what all the fuss was about.

Keep’s footwear incorporates mostly classic styles and patterns, often reminiscent of the timeless designs of Clarks and the Converse All-Star hi. Yet two designs really caught my eye. First, the Nuss—pictured above—stood out for combining a solid color midsole with the patterned fold-over. It reminded me a bit of Visvims, a brand highly touted by my pal Soybomb. I really like the use of traditional plaid, argyle and southwestern patterns on this particular shoe.

I was also a fan of the Benton—pictured left—which looks like a moccasin/dock sider hybrid. Not sure if I’d ever actually wear this style, but I really like the concept. To be honest, I’ve never really noticed Keep shoes in stores, but according to the website, you can find them at shops like Reed Space, Atrium and even WeSC. Who knew. To peep the rest of their collection, check out http://www.keepcompany.com/

Clae footwear

I’ve recently become enamored with the “athleisure” footwear company Clae. This romance started when I realized that I haven’t really branched out of specific brands (Nike) and styles (retro basketball, running shoes). I would describe Claes as skateshoes with an influence of Clarks design. Almost all Clae styles feature high grain leather, in a range of colors, and are finished with a midsole reminscent of old school Vans.

If you have the time, I suggest checking out their site at clae.com. Clae’s history is filled with inspiration from other footwear companies, mainly due to it’s founder Sung Choi. Prior to starting Clae in 2001, Sung Choi worked at DC Shoes and Lakai footwear. Supposedly, they even took a three year hiatus to work on revamping the styles and quality of shoes. I’ve heard these sneakers can be found at Reedspace in NYC, so I’ll be stopping by soon.

I’ve attached my personal favorites:

Black Romare Highs

Pavement McQueens

American Apparel

By now it’s no secret: American Apparel sells hip, comfortable clothes, but uses very suggestive images of women in their ads to do so, a practice that seems contrary to the company’s claims of being a socially responsible brand. I stumbled upon a Newsweek piece from a while back that discusses this very issue. It even mentions a particularly provocative billboard that used to be at the corner of Houston and Allen and one that we would always comment on walking past. Turns out the reason it came down was because someone had tagged the phrase “Gee, I wonder why women get raped” across the top of it. Jeesh. That’s one way to make a point. Take a look at the Newsweek article HERE, it’s pretty interesting.

Deth P. Sun @ Giant Robot

Last Saturday, a few friends and I went to check out Deth P. Sun’s installation at the Giant Robot gallery on 9th and A (at the behest of Soybomb of course). Though I recognized Sun’s work, I had never known the Oakland-based artist by name. The pieces on display were primarily painted wood panels of varying sizes and prominently featured Sun’s signature feline character, often wandering through treacherous landscapes. I might just be insane, but his art reminded me somewhat of Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit, if only Peter Rabbit took acid and got lost in the woods. Nevertheless, it was pretty cool stuff and several of the pieces probably made statements that I’m too dumb to comprehend. Peep Deth P. Sun’s website HERE.

At the very least, go check out the Giant Robot store next to the gallery. They have some sweet posters, books, toys and prints, and one item in particular that shall remain nameless because I still might go back and get it. The t-shirts are cool as well, I’ve bought two in separate visits this week.

Supreme x Tera Patrick

Occasionally my roommates and I will cut out clippings from newspapers and magazines that we find interesting or provocative and post them on the fridge and kitchen wall (ok fine, I’m pretty much the only one that does this, but still). One such clipping that’s been on display for several months now is a striking Supreme ad that I tore out of Vice. It features a busty brunette woman scantily clad in a bikini hugging a skate deck. Her expression is…suggestive. I cut it out simply because I thought it was fucking awesome. What’s not hot about a sexy woman posing with a skate deck?

The ad has become somewhat of a fixture of our decor, and to be honest I hadn’t really thought about it in a while until today. That is until I read in the latest issue of Complex that the woman is in fact pornstar Tera Patrick. I must admit that I was taken aback by this discovery, not so much that Supreme would use her in one of their ads (their mantra as a brand seems to be “If you don’t like it, step off”) but that a pornstar would be in an apparel ad to begin with. Supreme is a brand that prides itself on existing on the fringes and I’m wondering if we’ll begin to see a similar trend with other such “cooler than thou” brands. Are pornstars and other societal outliers the next way to earn street cred for your brand? It’s funny to think about, but in this day and age, where every brand is looking for a way to make a name and turn heads, it might not be that far from reality.

Soybomb’s Dislikes – Black dress shoes w/ jeans

I don’t know if it’s just me, but one thing that bothers me to no end is when people wear black dress shoes with jeans. Somewhere along the way, a rule was formulated in my mind where guys should only wear sneakers or brown shoes with jeans (i.e. Clarks Originals or something similar). Being in NYC, I see an abundance of people walking around, especially at night, in such self-described fashion faux pas. I think those types of people also weigh heavily on my prejudice, people who just reek of a trying-too-hard and over-the-top air.

For those unconvinced, please see the displayed example to my left. I can live with the tighter cut of jeans and the crumpled indie-rock look, but the addition of the black dress shoes makes me cringe. I don’t even need to see the rest of the picture to know this guy is probably a douche. A pair of sneakers or canvas shoes would fit these jeans significantly better.

For me, nothing beats a pair of sneakers (probably Nikes) with jeans. Not even NYC will sway my view.

WeSC

I don’t consider myself particularly fashion conscious, but one brand that I have had my eye on for the past year or so is WeSC. Founded in Sweden in 2000, WeSC (WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy) rapidly emerged as one of the country’s premiere labels with little to no marketing push by sponsoring artists, musicians and skaters in Sweden’s underground scene. Gradually, WeSC opened boutiques in NYC, LA and Japan and has achieved a presence in other countries as well. Still, the brand maintains an aura of exclusivity as the clothing can only be purchased at boutiques or through select dealers.

WeSC translates an urban/skateboarding sensibility to stylish yet casual clothing, which is what I find most appealing. Their affinity for plaid and striped patterns also aligns with my own stylistic preferences. WeSC makes the type of clothing with which you can either dress up or down comfortably. Plus the logo is sleek and they call themselves ” a street fashion brand for intellectual slackers.” Nifty.

Apparently, WeSC has come under scrutiny in Sweden recently for “selling out” (i.e. placing stores near high-end retailers like Gucci) while portraying an underground image. Who cares. What hasn’t “sold out” in this day and age? WeSC makes ill clothes and I’m going to continue to support. Hell, why don’t they just sponsor me?

Check out the collection HERE.

Jordan IV and VI Retros

For sneakerheads, this spring and summer season looks to pack your closets and lighten your wallets. Jordan Brand is releasing two iconic sneakers deemed “grail” worthy by all aficionados: the Jordan IV Black/Cements and the Jordan VI Carmines. Of course, JB is cashing in on the fact that both these sneakers will be so hotly sought after that price will be an afterthought. JB deliberately packaged these kicks in separate Jordan Countdown Packs, the IVs with 19s and the VIs with 17s. With an inflated price tag of over $300, people will still be lining up days in advance. Let’s be honest, no one’s buying these Countdown Packs for the throw-ins, and I can already picture an abundance of 17s and 19s on ebay.

Anyways, getting back to the topic of this post: the IVs and the VIs. When first introduced in 1989, the IVs were welcomed with lukewarm praise, and skeptics viewed it as tacky and cheap. Oops. The IVs quickly gained popularity among the public, and were even showcased in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Two years later, the VIs were released and coincidentally Jordan won his first title…adding to the legend and mystique of the sneaker. The VIs were also secretly worn by Batman in Batman Returns, and we all know Batman kicks ass in style (minus Michael Keaton).

With both the IVs and the VIs, I share the sentiment of the masses. These sneakers were definitely ahead of their time and play to the nostalgia of sneakerheads. I commend JB for re-releasing these two colorways and hope they keep it up but just not in Countdown Packs. If only JB retros the IIIs…