Thursday, April 28, 2005
"Think of it as Style Wars for sneaker culture...."
From my man Stanley:
"If you haven't already, you must check out the sneaker documentary Just for Kicks. Just think of it as Style Wars for the sneaker culture. It was an awesome film on soooo many levels. Most of us have been bombarded with the commercialization of hip hop for the last couple of years.
Before we were in corporate America, coppin the high fashion stuff we can now afford, we were kids scrubbin our kicks with a toothbrush to keep them Fresh. Go back to the essence. Check this film. MAKE SURE YOU GET A BALLOT AND VOTE FOR IT!!!!"
JUST FOR KICKS
Directors: Lisa Leone, Thibaut de Longeville
Long gone are the primitive days when athletic shoes were merely for sports and leisure activity. Over the last two decades sneakers have eclipsed designer shoes (sorry, Manholo and Jimmy) as a global cultural and style phenomenon. Just for Kicks takes you through the historic evolution of the sneaker in engrossing detail, starting with the grandfathers of stylized kicks wear: hip-hop's late 70s and early 80s B-Boys.
The documentary treats viewers to an entertaining refresher course on the hottest sneakers-of-the-moment of the past 20 years--most notably Run-DMC's reinvention of the shell-top Adidas shoe, accented by fat, untied laces, which epitomized the feverish peak of the kick fetish back in the day. And when basketball players temporarily reclaimed their rightful places as gym shoe leaders, it was the sport's indisputable worldwide hoops god, Michael Jordan, who answered the call. His revolutionary Air Jordans, aided for a spell by some hip, amusing Spike Lee-directed commercials, helped Nike introduce the series concept. (Even the company's kicks wanted to be like Mike, as epitomized by the abandonment of the company's signature logo and insignia, its trademark 'swoosh.')
You'll enter the private and coveted walk-in closets of some of the devoted and near compulsive 'sneakers hunters,' including hip-hop mogul Damon Dash, who scour the world to find the freshest, flyest and most original footwear around. Featuring interviews with Grandmaster Caz, Bill Adler, Fab Five Freddy, and breakdancing pioneers the Rock Steady Crew.
Playing TONIGHT (Thu, Apr 28) | 6:00pm at the Pace Schimmel Center (Spruce Street between Park Row and Gold Street, near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge) $10.00 admission. Click here for ticket details etc.
And on a related note, as promised, my Spring sneaker round-up:
G Unit (white/Camo)
Doesn't get more 2005 that that....
Adidas Men's Rod Laver LE
Classics with a little twist.
Air Force 1 Mid Tuskegee Edition
Respect!
G-Unit Spinning G's
Doesn't get much more 2004 than these but I had to include them anyway. Didn't Dada already do these though?
Pro Keds Men's 142 Ave
Should become better known as the Rocawear Rudeboy kicks. Cheaper than Bapes (but just as gaudy!).
I spotted some pretty sick looking S. Carter lows in a red/light grey colorway (or something?) on Fulton too but I couldn't find them online. Unfortunately, I'm not enough of a nerd that I walk around with my camera to have gotten a shot of them (although I guess looking for them online might be considered even sadder, no?).
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"If you haven't already, you must check out the sneaker documentary Just for Kicks. Just think of it as Style Wars for the sneaker culture. It was an awesome film on soooo many levels. Most of us have been bombarded with the commercialization of hip hop for the last couple of years.
Before we were in corporate America, coppin the high fashion stuff we can now afford, we were kids scrubbin our kicks with a toothbrush to keep them Fresh. Go back to the essence. Check this film. MAKE SURE YOU GET A BALLOT AND VOTE FOR IT!!!!"
JUST FOR KICKS
Directors: Lisa Leone, Thibaut de Longeville
Long gone are the primitive days when athletic shoes were merely for sports and leisure activity. Over the last two decades sneakers have eclipsed designer shoes (sorry, Manholo and Jimmy) as a global cultural and style phenomenon. Just for Kicks takes you through the historic evolution of the sneaker in engrossing detail, starting with the grandfathers of stylized kicks wear: hip-hop's late 70s and early 80s B-Boys.
The documentary treats viewers to an entertaining refresher course on the hottest sneakers-of-the-moment of the past 20 years--most notably Run-DMC's reinvention of the shell-top Adidas shoe, accented by fat, untied laces, which epitomized the feverish peak of the kick fetish back in the day. And when basketball players temporarily reclaimed their rightful places as gym shoe leaders, it was the sport's indisputable worldwide hoops god, Michael Jordan, who answered the call. His revolutionary Air Jordans, aided for a spell by some hip, amusing Spike Lee-directed commercials, helped Nike introduce the series concept. (Even the company's kicks wanted to be like Mike, as epitomized by the abandonment of the company's signature logo and insignia, its trademark 'swoosh.')
You'll enter the private and coveted walk-in closets of some of the devoted and near compulsive 'sneakers hunters,' including hip-hop mogul Damon Dash, who scour the world to find the freshest, flyest and most original footwear around. Featuring interviews with Grandmaster Caz, Bill Adler, Fab Five Freddy, and breakdancing pioneers the Rock Steady Crew.
Playing TONIGHT (Thu, Apr 28) | 6:00pm at the Pace Schimmel Center (Spruce Street between Park Row and Gold Street, near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge) $10.00 admission. Click here for ticket details etc.
And on a related note, as promised, my Spring sneaker round-up:
G Unit (white/Camo)
Doesn't get more 2005 that that....
Adidas Men's Rod Laver LE
Classics with a little twist.
Air Force 1 Mid Tuskegee Edition
Respect!
G-Unit Spinning G's
Doesn't get much more 2004 than these but I had to include them anyway. Didn't Dada already do these though?
Pro Keds Men's 142 Ave
Should become better known as the Rocawear Rudeboy kicks. Cheaper than Bapes (but just as gaudy!).
I spotted some pretty sick looking S. Carter lows in a red/light grey colorway (or something?) on Fulton too but I couldn't find them online. Unfortunately, I'm not enough of a nerd that I walk around with my camera to have gotten a shot of them (although I guess looking for them online might be considered even sadder, no?).
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