Sneaker Freaker

One of the main irritations I find is the collectability of these shoes, the antique mentality being missed by so many buyers worldwide. ‘The whole reason these things become cool is if they have survived the crusher as it were, if they haven’t been destroyed over the years’ MD emanates. ‘Look at the whole Star Wars toy phenomenon, these are objects that were made to play with, made to be smashed about, they were for kids, you were expected to play with them. The problem is that these marketing giants have cottoned on to the fact that they can remake these shoes and make a profit off them. Sadly this removes any romanticism one may have in the first place, negating any enthusiasm and passion for sneakers, maybe it’s just the old timers that feel this way, maybe not, maybe the new consumer wants something new, crazy idea I know.

As elder statesmen of Hip-Hop, are we partly responsible for the popularity of sneakers and why they became a phenomenon? Is it because of these iconic shoes from the golden era of Rap [Air Force, Flights, Jordans etc] that we partly killed off the love for ourselves? What has become of the sneaker industry as a whole? Where are all the contemporary classics? Prestos, Zoom Tres, Shox, Mayflys and even Air Max 95 - are these really the shoes that will stand out as future flavors in a few years.

Again, if the companies didn’t saturate the market with so many reissues today, maybe some things would’ve been left sacred. The petulant insouciance of the younger consumer has also negated any element of cool. It’s because of things like this that the old school distinction, the character building ‘Spirit of the underground’ mind-set seems to be disappearing. ‘It’s so formulaic these days, the sneaker game is eating itself whole’ MD fumes. You have been warned.

Now go back into that Rap back-catalogue, learn precisely how far your slacks should be hangin’ over ya’ shoes, recognize the real on how to co-ordinate the brands from top to bottom and discover exactly how tight/ loose to lace those puppies properly and above all, rock ‘em the right way!!

CRAIG LECKIE