What’s in a name ?

Not a 'Nike Air' logo in sight !

Not a ‘Nike Air’ logo in sight !

Sometimes you just have to stop and take stock of everything. Nike are having a great time milking money out of gullible Jordan collectors by re-releasing pairs a year later with slightly altered designs. Invoking the name ‘OG’ in vain, and deliberately adding ‘Vintage’ treatments to badly retro’ed classic pairs.

It’s a shame. There was a time when they would innovate and produced great, inspiring design. I had to set this picture up just to celebrate some of the great heel logos of all time on the Air Max 1.

Can you name them all ?

Kidrobot

krRare, unusual and just plain cool. Kidrobot’s are one of the most exclusive and expensive pair of Air Max 1 ever made. Released at Barney’s in New York and limited to just 250 pairs. These are have long been a favorite amongst sneaker collectors and Kidrobot fans alike.

The black, gold and pink styling was created by Paul Budnitz & Chad Phillips of Kidrobot to match the exterior of Kidrobot’s 1986 Maserati Quattroporte III Royale. Each limited edition shoe comes packaged in a specially-designed gold and pink box and includes a mini Kidrobot keychain.

In addition, one of five blind-chase sockliners packed in Kidrobot’s signature foil bag, will be packaged with the limited edition shoe. The sockliners were created by artists Gary Baseman, Dalek, David Horvath, Huck Gee and Frank Kozik.

This deadstock pair has found its way into my life and I couldn’t be happier !

Intagram-atic

Usually I am a bit reticent to actually embrace new technology but with a lot of pushing I have finally got into Instagram. As the person who put me on to it explained. “It’s like all the good bits of Facebook without hearing everyone whine !” You follow me : @aneks1 Here are some of my recent efforts:

Going all in with a full house, 7s full of 9s.

Lunch at the Maranui Surf Club Cafe

Just resting on the sea wall, enjoying the wildlife

New Arrivals

Welcome to your new home !

 

After months of packing, traveling and waiting something pretty awesome happened yesterday. All our stuff arrived. Imagine a Christmas morning where you know that everything you want is actually in the boxes.

And speaking of boxes…..

Just the shoes !

Still a long way off actually having everything unpacked and sorted but the first order of business was to get something on my feet.

Same kicks, new location !

Pick-ups

An old compilation of my collection

Like most people I really enjoy the little buzz you get from walking around in a favorite item of clothing. Imagine being able to do that everyday. I never planned on starting a collection. I just got annoyed at wearing holes in my favorite shoes and not being able to find that pair again once they were worn out.

Some of my favorites

Then I went looking for similar pairs and discovered that there was a near limitless amount of variety to be found. New colours materials, designs and ideas all working off the same theme. A nearly endless source of inspiration and a world of exploration.

So much choice

Eventually it was the search and the discovery that captivated me.

But at the end of the day, I still love wearing my favorite pair of shoes……. even if I now have many many favorites.

Flykint Trainer

Nike Flyknit Trainer

 

It has been a big year for innovation. Arguably one of the most impressive things to come out of the big ‘N’ in a long time is Flyknit. This technology which will find its way into a number of their products is a lightweight weave manufacturing process unlike anything that can be seen on another shoe. These Flyknit Trainers are super light and comfortable but also are an amazing looking pair of shoes. I’d be prepared to bet that if they released these without a Swoosh on them people would consider them cutting edge fashion.

Check out the video below which explains, in marketing speak, why the Flykint is an amazing piece of design.

A video about how the flyknit came to be