The 25 Coolest Sneaker Designs of 2009
You know the year is definitely coming to an end when articles and reviews start popping up on the ‘Best of 09′. At first when i saw that Bloomberg Business Week had rounded up The 25 Coolest Sneaker Designs of 2009 i was a bit skeptical of what decisions they had made, but then reading it and realising that they had in fact teamed up with Sneaker Freaker to do the review i was quite impressed.
Below I’ve picked out 5 sneakers from the list that i think are worthy of a ‘Best of ‘09′ accolade. You can check out the rest of the review here. Finally as a bonus Sneaker Freaker have rounded up the Best of the Best 2009 with comments from the likes of Crooked Tongues own Gary Warnett and sneakers fanatics like A-Track.
Saucony Shadow 6000 Varsity
Supra Skytop II
Louis Vuitton Kanye West Signatures
Adidas, Hypebeast, and Solebox Zeitfrei
Nike Air Yeezy
Vans Era’s, Chukka Low’s… and Elms?
Speaking of Vans, they’ve just dropped three new collections…
I’m really liking the contrast of the two-tone colours on the California Collection of the Era’s. Incorporating premium materials in suede and canvas the sneakers come in six different colourways. The lower grade pastel colours will look really nice with a pair of shorts. If your Japanese is good then some of the colours are already available over at Flauge.
Usually concentrating on their most popular styles such as the Authentic’s, Era’s, Sk8-Hi & Chukkas I’m glad to see that there now moving there attention over to their other models. I’ve always liked the Chukkas, so seeing a low version of them is even better. It seems there playing around with simple colours with their Fall ‘09 Collection.
And finally the Eric Elms x Vans collaboration brings us a new model…Vans Elms (WOW… i wonder how long it took them to come up with that). Joking aside, I will probably purchase myself a pair of these as i just love the sleek, slim look of the sneakers. Eric Elms who is known for his work with Stussy and Supreme, has incorporated a mix of suede and canvas to the new model giving us three unique colourways, Tidepool, Burgundy & Black. Head on over to Flatspot where you can pick’em up for £65.
White Vans… So Fresh, So Clean
A few weeks back, a couple of us Stylenerds went out to celebrate a fellow friends ‘Born Day’… hours later, with numerous amounts of alcohol consumed, i somehow managed to stumble my way home. Waking up the next morning i gaze over to the end of my bed to find that my pristine white Vans era’s were… well, not pristine anymore!!! take a look at Fig 1. Astonishing, i know!… i still cant recall how they ended up like that. So instead of going out to buy me some brand new ones, i thought I’d have a go at ‘trying’ to clean them.
Right… so i armed myself with the following ammo… Vanish Prewash Spay Oxi Action Intelligence Plus, Vanish Stain Remover Oxi Action Intelligence Crystal White Plus, White Spirit, Kiwi Select Sport Whitener, a large plastic bowl/bucket, a hard bristle brush, a pillow case and a washing machine.
1. I delaced the sneakers and applied the Vanish Prewash Spray onto them all. As i waited for the foam to soak into the material i prepared the washing machine with the Vanish Stain Remover.
2. Once the foam wasn’t visible anymore i put the laces and the sneakers into a pillow case, tied it up securely (not to tight as you have to allow room for the sneakers to move) and threw them in the wash.
3. As you can see from Fig 2 the laces had completely whitened, although not much could be said for the sneakers. They were cleaner but you still wouldn’t rock them yet. Once dried i then applied the white spirit to the sneakers and using some elbow grease with the brush i started to scrub against the harder, heavier stains, which you can see in Fig 3. I left them to dry over night.
4. The next day i filled up the large bowl with hot water and poured in a small measurement of the Vanish Stain Remover. I left the sneakers to soak in the bowl overnight again.
5. As you can see in Fig 4, once dry the sneakers turned out pretty clean. Even though they had a couple of light stains, they were barely noticible so you could start to wear them from now, knowing that they will eventually get dirty again. But to me that wasn’t good enough…
6. I applied two coats of the Kiwi Sport Whitener, let them dry… and Voila!, you have Fig 5.
So after a little trial and error, i would suggest starting from step 3, as you need to get the heavier oily stains out of the trainers first before their allowed to soak into the material.
Hit up the comments if you have any other tips and tricks of your own that you want to share.
Fig 1
Fig 2
Fig 3
Fig 4
Fig 5
Kanye West X Louis Vuitton Sneaker Collaboration
1st July ‘09 marks a very special day, not only is it the first day of July (and an extremely scorching hot day at that) and not only is it my first post since… ermmm… a very long time!… but the much anticipated collaboration between Kanye West X Louis Vuitton have finally been released.
If you head on over to your nearest Louis Vuitton store, you’ll be able to choose from three models The Don, The Jasper and the Mr Hudson.
The Don, which i personally think is the better of the bunch, are being relesed in three colourways, black, red and tan/purple. Theirs two details that stand out on this design, firstly the heel tab acts like a guard for tucking in the back of your jeans (genius in my opinion) and the tassles at the end of the laces that give it a more sophisticated look to it (some say it resembles tassles on the end of a drapery… but lets not go there).
The Jasper, a somewhat classic version of the Nike Air Yeezy’s (which to be honest i’m not really digging… although if i was given the Net/Net colourways, you may be lucky enough to see me wear them!), are being released in all black, all white and grey with a pink sole. Once again the heel tab is a nice touch to these hi-tops along with the thin strap towards the top of the tongue.
Finally the Mr Hudson, taking on a boat/deck shoe design, are being released in a all white and a grey/pink colourway. Definately one two rock with your shorts or your roll up trouser/ankle swinger look.
Right!… now comes the important bit, a standard pair of these sneakers will cost you $870 and above and beyond. However nice these sneakers may be, and however nice they will be rockin with your garms this summer, the price tag is way too high, but it’s what you expect from a collaboration between two high fashion labels (debateable maybe, but i think we can call Kanye West a label).
Check out the sneakers below.
Spring Court Shoes
Spring Court shoes is a classic trainer that has an extra twist to the well known Converse all star. Spring court shoes were primarily used as tennis shoes for French tennis legends during the 1930’s. These shoes have
Spring Court
remarkable ventilation but i doubt you care about that! What you care about is the mid-cut length, the cool ventilation holes on the sole and the thick tongue. Read more…
Onitsuka Tiger Celebrates 60th Anniversary
Cycle Of Life Ad
The Asics premium label, Onitsuka Tiger, is launching a global year-long campaign in celebration of its 60th anniversary titled ‘Cycle of Life‘, which will also promote the brand’s 2009 Spring/Summer collection. Amsterdam Worldwide have been commissioned to carry out the work for the celebration, which in Japanese tradition is considered an important milestone.
Alexander McQueen for Puma
Alexander McQueen for Puma
Unexpected and unique, Alexander McQueen PUMA defines a new provocative horizon in sport fashion. Founded on the union of tradition and technology, the collection juxtaposes influences, delivering a visually contemporary line that is conceptually sophisticated and intricately crafted.
