Sneaker Freaker

ONE OF THE MOST DIVISIVE DEVELOPMENTS IN SNEAKERDOM OVER THE PAST YEAR OR SO HAS BEEN THE RISE OF THE NIKE HYBRID CONCEPTS. PERHAPS BETTER KNOWN BY THEIR COLLOQUIAL MUSICAL COUNTERPART, “MASHUPS”, THESE SHOES TAKE A MIX AND MATCH APPROACH TO NIKE HISTORY – THE SOLE FROM ONE SHOE FUSED WITH THE UPPER OF ANOTHER AND BINGO – A NEW STAR IS BORN! THESE CROSS-BREEDS HAVE ALSO BECOME A TOUCHSTONE FOR DISGRUNTLED HEADS AND SOURCE OF MORE THAN A LITTLE NOGGIN SCRATCHIN’ AMONGST NEWBIES, UNCERTAIN OF THEIR PROVENANCE AMIDST THE MYRIAD OF DESIGN REFERENCES.

For some, the mere thought of these mongrel offspring is enough to send them into instant apoplexy. Questions were being asked – has the nine month winter drizzle finally dry rotted Beaverton’s brains? Or have they simply reached the zenith of their own creative colon and found the lights are switched off and no one is home? Is it really the end, or the beginning of an entirely new horizon?

The nutshell of the anti-faction principally seems to be that their favourite models should remain structurally sacrosanct in perpetuity. It’s akin to a pooch breeder who wants their prize poodle to only canoodle with prize winning mutts, ensuring the genetic footprint remains untainted. This argument gets a good flogging in the forums and has always struck me as close-minded and automatically blinkered to fresh takes. It seems to stem from your ‘holier than thou’ type, self-appointed as Nike’s online conscience, who love pointing out every misdemeanour the company supposedly makes as if they went to design school as a toddler prodigy. After all, it’s always easier to say (or type) negative stuff, especially when it’s late at night in the twilight of your own bedroom.

STORY BY COLIN WOOD