This year’s crop of Spring Courts offers a lot of variations on the iconic white tennis shoe, but our favorite is this oilcloth version, which just arrived at Steven Alan as part of the fall/winter shipment. It’s the first shoe we’ve seen from them that looks grungy enough to be out of place on a tennis court…but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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Porter’s bags have been a favorite of workwear aficionados for a while, but their first sneaker collab just landed in stores as part of Adidas’ F/W ’09 shipment, and it’s got a lot of the same panache that makes their duffels worth picking up. The stitching looks familiar, and so do the Samba-esque stripes, but the master stroke is the zipper that runs up from the heel. Maybe they lost their shoehorn?
Our first pick of today’s capsule show comes from the Spanish sneaker brand Camper. This particular pair combines two of our favorite shoes: the canvas oxford and the espadrille.
That means jute soles, breathable fabrics, and a laced upper for a better overall fit. It’s the brainchild of designer Jaime Hayon, and it might be the perfect summer shoe…if only we didn’t have to wait until next year to get our hands on it.
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Maison Martin Margiela has been dipping their toes in the sneaker game for some time, but usually they favor a style of spaceman high-top that, like most avant-garde sneakers, appeals more to streetwear shops than the haute crowd.
Luckily, this season finds MMM taking that same monochrome sleakness to a soccer-shoe model, and the result is pretty envy-inspiring. The silhouette may be treading on Puma territory, but the all-leather approach and the perfectly chosen shade of blue place it a few cuts above the competition. Not that we’d expect anything less…
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We tend to be a little wary of high tops, but this Clae pair has just about everything we need. They’re desert boot-ish without being desert boots, and the white soles give it a contrast missing in more earth-toned sneaks. And we can always use a little more matte black.
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Alluring: Allure crosses the nudity threshold, with a little help from Padma Lakshmi. We’re guessing Salman already cancelled his subscription. [The Cut]
Mountain Men: Justin Timberlake and Lupe Fiasco scale Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the worldwide water crisis. We feel more aware already. [Pitchfork]
Hotel Theory: Ace Hotel comes up with our new favorite pair of summer sneakers. [Selectism]
Half In the Bag: Canvas utility bags bear an eerie resemblance to tote bags. [A Continuous Lean]
You might remember Clae from the capsule show a few months back, but there’s a new line making the rounds. This time, it’s a bit more streetwear-heavy, but they still understand one of the cardinal rules of modern sneakering: keep it colorful.
This time around, that means pastel greens, bright yellows and powder blues, but nothing loud enough to upset the rest of your ensemble. The hightops may be a bit bulkier than you’re used to, but we’d say it’s just a season or two ahead of its time.
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Gossip: Leighton Meester’s Reebok spots have us reconsidering our stance on sneakers. [FashionIndie]
New Slang: NYMag brings us up to date on something called “Teddy Boy.” Apparently it’s not just a cockney epithet anymore. [The Cut]
Colored Pencils: The exceedingly twee world of pencil art. [NotCot]
Trained Fleas: A quick tour of the Brooklyn Flea, as curated by some of our favorite bloggers. [Cool Hunting]
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It’s a Low Bar: The divine Ms. Refaeli is on board to host MTV’s revamped House of Style. Here’s hoping she can avoid getting a catchphrase. [People]
Milking It: Vice experiments with the culinary possibilities of breast milk. We give it six months before this makes it to four-star restaurants. [Vice]
By Any Other Name: The good news: Kanye’s Nike collaboration finally has a name. The bad news: that name is Air Yeezy. [Secret Society]
Mr. President, Have Pity on the Working Man: Cigar taxes go through the roof, forcing decadence enthusiasts to light up with ones instead of twenties. [Luxist]
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Much as we love the sneaker/oxford crossover, it’s important to do it in the right way. Otherwise you end up with…well, this.
The sneaker/oxford divide isn’t what it used to be. Take Generic Man, for example. They’re one of the best sources for streetwear-ready spaceman sneakers, which carry a decent price tag but run a little low on prestige. But that doesn’t mean they can’t take on something a little more upscale.
These cap-toes aren’t exactly Alden material—there’s still no substitute for a real cobbler—but as far as avant-garde formalwear goes, it’s hard to do much better. It may be patent leather on the toes, but that just adds to the synthetic vibe created by the clever double-front and strangely clinical powder blue.
There’s also a denim-colored version, but we’re guessing you’ll want to keep things neutral.
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Seavees is well on their way to becoming California’s finest shoe, but they’ve got more than sunshine on their mind.
The latest line (via Men.Style) is titled 9/63, in honor of the founding of color magnates Pantone. Of course, we’ve admired their work in the past, but we never thought we’d end up seeing them on a sneaker.
Unfortunately, they skip out on Mimosa in favor of seven more 60s-oriented color blends, but they’re richer choices than you usually see on footwear. It might be a bit hard to match, but this orange hue is our favorite. You’d better hurry if you like it, though: it’s a limited collection (as usual with Seavees), and only 1,963 are going on sale.
Kanye’s seen the future, and it is Velcro.
These Kris Van Assche ankle leather sneakers prompted his Yeeziness to title a post, “2009 is all about the straps! I know we’ve seen straps but this year it’s going to be crazy,” which moved us to battle stations.
As fashion predictions go, it’s pretty ominous, but hopefully we can dodge the horrible future Kanye foresees. This isn’t 1988, and he isn’t Michael Jackson, so let’s hope he forgets this one before the next tour.
If he’d really meant it, he probably would have typed it in all caps.
We mostly know Acne for their raw denim, but apparently they’re a lot more mod than we gave them credit for.
This Spring/Summer 09 collection is a lot more colorful than we expect from them…in addition to containing some of the shortest men’s shorts we’ve ever seen. On the bright side, there are suits with sandals, a brash commitment to sneakers and a general atmosphere of mod-ish insouciance.
Well played, fellows.
Belle du Jour: Kate Winslet steps into Catherine Deneuve’s shoes for the win. [FashionIndie]
Just for Kicks: What the world needs now, more than anything else, is crocodile skin sneakers. [Luxist]
The Writing on the Wall: A countdown of the top 25 parodies of Shephard Fairey’s Obama “Hope” poster. Sadly, Nate Dogg does not make the list. [Village Voice]
Dov Love: The cops are after Dov Charney, for all the obvious reasons. [PSFK]
Quiksilver isn’t the only line with a forward-thinking label coming along for the ride. Adidas has managed to pull the same move without going to the bother of actually producing any shoes, or even designing shoes could possibly be produced. After all, why go to the trouble of putting together samples when all you really need are a few shiny pictures to send around the blogosphere?
Vagant let us know about this promotion, which comes courtesy of German sneakerhead Fritz Träumer. There’s the ultra-green sneaker, the Kraftwerk-inspired sneaker, and a few more, but we couldn’t help wondering…weren’t you supposed to put these on your feet at some point?
We spotted Clae at the capsule show in July, but we thought we’d take a moment to examine the full set. The looks range from low-key loafers to Thriller-esque hightops, but the middle ground is where the real action is.
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Veja has been around a while, but the fair trade sneaker company (and favorite of Josh Spear) has finally graduated from Adidas knockoffs and produced something worth buying for non-charitable reasons.
Behold the Grid. The color is “moonrock” and the look is decidedly spaceman-inspired. It’s simple, stripped-down, and just offbeat enough to warrant a second look from whoever you happen to be meeting. And, naturally, it blends perfectly with the rest of your monochromatic ensemble.
And just because it’s French doesn’t mean you’ll have to pay shipping charges. Click through for a list of stateside locations»
Sneakers have been getting flashier and flashier lately, but this marks an intriguing new development. The designer—Christian Lacroix, on behalf of Gola—ditches the 70s nostalgia that most mainstreamers are chasing and goes with something much more old-world. The combination of the embossed leather and the rich colors make this seem like a throwback to a previous century. If Louis XIV had worn sneakers, he would have worn these.
These mid-tops came our way as a Franco-Japanese collab between Springcourt and Resistance.
The idea of mashing together 18th century upholstery and 20th century sneakers is an interesting one, and the Vuitton-esque pattern is a nice touch if you don’t look to close, but the skulls-and-crosses motif is a little more Goth than we’re used to. It’s not the first melodramatic pattern we’ve seen set into casual clothes, but hopefully we’re closer to the end of this trend than the beginning.
All Access Pass: Here’s your VIP badge for to the
backstage loveliness at Victoria’s Secret. [
Oyster]
Holy C+ Batman!: A complete ranking of Batman’s best
and worst gadgets—and you thought Bond liked his toys. [
Marching Orders: Nike teams up with the Army to
create the fastest soldiers on earth. [
The Shoe Hound’s Dog House: A brief profile of
Leffot. [The
Moment]
Let The Games Begin: Every one of these Olympic
hotties deserves a medal. [
Hot LOVA: A little bit “Mad Men,” a little bit
Revenge of the Nerds—all good. [
Pipeline]
Check That: Real Mad Men wear plaid. [
Continuous Lean]
Picture Perfect: The only thing hipper and wackier
than Adam Kimmel’s clothes are Ryan McGinley’s lookbook shots. [Selectism]
Newly Available: These starlets are all suddenly single. Have at it boyos. [Radar]
H&M is Pushing Menswear: Yes, but where to? [Fashion United]
Pull The Blinds: There’s something deeply creepy about Hussein Chalayan’s new T-shirt. [Men.Style]
Lanvain + Acne: Equals one very cool, very classy hightop. [Scotch and Plaid]
How to Get The Tom Brady Look: Giselle Bundchen not included. [Valet]
Squash is The New Golf: Yes! We can finally make good use of our super tight shorts! [Vanityfair.com]
Chic Rock: When we boot up Guitar Hero at home, we can only wish things like this happened. [Crave Online]
Now that Nau has been shuttered and unshuttered, it looks like the streets of Portland are once again safe for eco-friendly startups.
END seems to think so at least. The newly minted footwear company has been attracting all sorts of press with its green approach to the sneaker business. Most notably, the company is helmed by a former Nike exec, who may have felt inclined to atone for his employers’ less than savory labor practices. The shoes themselves are mostly earth-toned versions of what you can already find at Foot Locker, but the raw materials are decidedly different, based in recycled rubber and laces made from recycled milk jugs.
The shoes are slated to go on sale August 1 at REI stores, so we’ll have to wait ’til then to see how they turn out.
All in the Family: Witness a touching moment between
all-time hottie Jane Seymour and daughter. Why? What were you
thinking? Perv. [
Back to The Future: At last, the Nike McFlys are
coming! [PSFK]
Location, Location, Location: How and where to button
up. [NYTimes]
Bubba Pop: We always thought Bill Clinton was a
colorful character. [
UK]
Jumpsuits are The New Sexy: Actually, no, they’re
not. [Daily
Mail]
Old Folks Home: This is what happens when male models
work past their expiration date. [
Certified Classic: Salma Hayek—still beautiful, still badass. [Camel Tap]
British Invasion: Save your pence—Topman will arrive any day [DNRNews]
These Nike Canvas Lows Are Kinda Awesome: That is all. [Hypebeast]
Pocket Protector: The history of the pocket square revealed. [Art of Manliness]
Putting It Together: Assembly, the omnisexual store from one of the creators of Scout, is picking up all kinds of press. [We Are The Market]
Misunderestimating: President George W. Bush tells French President Nicholas Sarkozy of his wife, Carla Bruni, “I can see why you married her”. Apparently his degree from Yale was in stating the obvious. [BBC]
Hanging In There: The tie is dead? Go tell it to CBS. [A Continuous Lean]
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