BEST SNEAKERS 2009

GARY WARNETT
CROOKEDTONGUES.COM

It’s difficult to determine what I’ve liked the most this year but I’ve narrowed it down to three. I deliberately tried to excise the retro stuff, but the Norse Projects New Balance 670, the black perforated Swoosh Tier Zero Blazer, Tokio Lo, Mid Skool ‘77,  Livestrong Footscape Wovens, KZK Campus and the orange/blue Air Trainer SCs were tremendous. True blue Jordan IIIs were a given too. And as far as newer creations go, I really liked the Yeezy and LeBron VII, but I assumed they’d be ubiquitous in this year-end round up.
That LeBron is a future classic right there. What’s funny is that for the umpteenth year, I’ve grumbled about the state of things, then realised that it’s been a good year. So jettisoning the usual suspects, a couple of shoes slapped me with designs that were far from passive. I still get a kick out of pieces that polarise opinion rather than induce apathy, and Nike brought it twice. In widescreen, digitally remastered with THX sound – these models were BIG in the physical sense but seem destined for cultdom.
I like Superdomes, Baltoros and Tarns, and while there seemed to be attempts by brands to conceal the fact that they make athletic shoes just because hipsters shifted their fickle gaze to hiking boots and brogues, I liked the rise (literally and figuratively) of BIG shoes, whether it was kids jocking Supra Skytops, Lanvins, Vuittons or the aforementioned shoe courtesy of Mr. West.