THE CROSS BREED - NIKE HYBRIDS

TRAINER DUNK LOW
Then towards the end of last year, a new treat arrived in the form of the Trainer Dunk Low (TDL), born as part of the Stussy World Tour Pack. It featured a FREE Trail sole, a Dunk upper and the forefoot strap off a Trainer One – all things that we instinctively know and love. The official explanation was that it combined the best in running, basketball and cross training, but there was never any need to sell me this camel with a long winded justification – I saw it straight up the first time for what it is – it’s chunky and beautifully balanced. And new. And comfortable as sin. If the true idea of a hybrid is creating something new that is better than the sum of it’s parts, then the TDL was a Mark Holden-esque touchdown.

After an initial burst of bloggery, the TDL seemed destined to fade into obscurity. That the shoe remains in the 2007 range and has been refreshed with a host of new colours is cause for celebration. In fact I go so far as to say it’s one of the best all-new shoes of the millenium. Anyone care to name a shoe designed since 2000 that comes close to popping this most glazed of casual cherries? Even better news is vision of the freshly baked Trainer Dunk High, looking hotter than Dutch mustard with the speckle heel piece and grey/purple colour with yellow pops. Can anyone look me in the eye and say that is truly not a piece of modern gold?

Yet for all the good stuff, there’s one chink in my argument and it’s the Dunk x Presto hybrid known as the Dunk-esto. Current ghastly colours aside, it just aint radical enough for my liking. Why bother playing it safe? Let’s get out the oxy torch and really really start chopping!