While Supra have have made a habit of veering towards the more controversial colour palettes, starting off with the infamous Gold Muska Sky Tops some of their latest colourways have a slightly more subtle edge to them. A tidy white perforated upper will feature on 4 of their most popular models from the upcoming Spring '09 collection. First up, the Vaider Tufs (shown above) get the treatment in a stylish check perf pattern. They also feature a sliding metal supra logo on the tongue and matching metal accents. Click the link for more pics and info.

The Cuban's also follow suit, this time with an all over perf pattern, sett off again with a metal chain accent.

The Erik Ellington Pro gets a similar job, with the side panels and heal in clean white.

Finally my favourites, the Sky Top lows. These are all available now from the stockists listed below and all good skate/street stores.

Urban Industry (UK)
The Consortium (UK)
Zappos (US)

Since it's original launch in 1982 the Adidas Oregon had been one of Adidas' stable models, generating a continuous and substantial income for the company over it's 27 years in production and it's numerous incarnations. I particularly like this updated version of the original which I believe first appeared in the late 90's and is called the Oregon Ultra LE. It features completely reconfigured uppers and toe box yet in my opinion still retains the charm of the original. This clean black/white/grey colourway shown above I believe formed part of Adidas's 2008 spring/summer Originals Consortium - AZX Project collection with the colours themselves put together by clothing and apparel retailer and designers UNDFTED (Undefeated). Although currently unavailable in most stores a quick eBay search revealed a few sizes of this crispy colourway still floating about. Click the link to see some other interesting Oregon colourways.

With the explosion of sneaker culture over the last few years, it seems that companies are releasing so called 'limited' and collabo kicks so regularly it is impossible to keep up. The 'Limited Edition' sneaker has in many ways become so common that the original statement has almost become a paradox in itself. It has also often occurred to me how many of these 'limited' releases are made with exactly the same build quality and often also with similar materials to general release shoes. The only difference comes in the form of the inflated price tags and unnecessary secondary branding. Click the link for pictures and more info.

With every tom, dick and harry collaborating with the manufacturers you also find many of these shoes to be completely devoid of any subtlety, attention to detail or design integrity...as pretty much anything goes these days. This has lead me to look more closely at some of the GR (general release) kicks which may be overlooked by collectors due to their 'common' nature. A nice example are this pair of Adidas ZX500's. A classic design combined with a refined Sand / Legacy / Violet colour palette and stitched accents. Nothing too controversial but in my opinion simplicity should always prevail.

Available here in the UK at the following stores:

Main Source - ZX500
End Clothing - ZX500

With the new year fast approaching, we have already started to see a whole load of preview pics of upcoming styles and colourways slipping out onto the blogs. 2009 is already looking like it's going to be a pretty live year for retro kicks. Click the 'Read Full Post' link for a choice selection of what the new year has in store.

Reebok Court Pump Victory - Michael Chang: Any body who remembers the tennis court stylings of the great Michal Chang, may also remember his signature shoe. Along with Andre Agassi's Nike Air Tech Challenge line these have to be some of the most striking court trainers to emerge from tennis' golden era. Great to see Reebok resurrecting more 90's heat.

Reebok Sk700 - Kidz In The Hall: Definitely Not every ones cup of tea but the Sk700 cuts a nice profile IMO. These colourways put together buy hip hop duo 'Kidz In The Hall' will form part of Reebok's Classic Re-Mix collection. These are scheduled for a March 2009 Foot Locker release. Not convinced by the colourways myself but perhaps we will see some more in due course.

Nike Air Pegasus '89: Definitely one of the most anticipated retro releases of next year. 20 Years after it's initial debut Nike are bringing back this revered runner. Pre-release shots seem to show they have stayed pretty faithful to the original silhouette. These will definitely be taking their spot in my collection.


Nike Air Max BW - JD Sports Exclusive: JD have been know every now and then to drop some tasty colourways and this BW is looking pretty fresh to me. It is a slight variation of the original Persian violet colourway (shown below) which will also be seeing a first quarter '09 re-release.

Nike Air Max 1 - Safari: Seems like Nikes humble safari print has come a long way over the last few years. This tidy little print seems to have shown up on just about everything from retro runners, SB windbreaker jackets, mutant hybrids and even new skool basketball kicks. The Grey variation Premium SP edition shown in the first photo down are actually already available from Proper in the US. The other colourways are scheduled for release sometime during spring/summer of '09.


Nike Air Digs: Now here's a long lost gem I never would have seen Nike resurrecting in a million years. The Air Digs as it is known is actually a Women's volleyball shoe which originally made it's debut in 1991. Teal/Pink colourways and gum soles are always welcome, definitely one for the 80's kids. On my hit list for sure.


Nike Air Structure - New Colourways: Since it's coveted return this year Nike has released a steady stream of original, retro inspired and new colourways of this 90's classic. It seems the fiends can't get enough and 2009 will see a raft of new colours emerging, starting with these four. As with the Air Max 1 Safari Premiums, the first two colourways shown below are already available at Proper in the US.

For more Sneaker news & Info visit these useful spots:

Sneakernews
Sneakerfreaker
Sneakerfiles

It seems Nike really can't leave the BW alone at moment...and rightly so. This time we get another take on the classic silhouette in a clean black and white colourway with striking pink accents. Very nice to see a mesh toe box and although not 100% confirmed but it appears these may also come with the classic embossed tongue which is often overlooked in favour of the standard stitch job. Said to be hitting stores in January of '09, landing first at Opium Store, Paris. Click the link for more info:

It seems that nike has really started gettting their act together on the BW front. Favouring the clean traditional solid colourways and classic materials as opposed to this type of cheap looking junk that we have become accustomed too. An embossed tongue just like the original would have been nice but you can't get everything I guess. The obsidian, cayman and grey combo certainly ticks the right boxes and what looks to be a tidy nubuck and mesh material selection completes a nice effort all round. The damage? a relatively wallet friendly (well for the uk, anyway) £75. Available now in the UK @ MainSource and @ Proper in the US.

Main Source - Web Store
Proper - Web Store

(Via SneakerNews)

In celebration of their 5th anniversary Oxford based sneaker store 'Ryouki' has collaborated on these tasty little numbers knows as the Double Negative. Created in the stores own colours they seem to be ticking all the boxes: mesh toe box, reflective 3m side panels and a speckled midsole. They are in fact a variation on another Lacoste model the Missouri 85 and also include a hidden personal message from store owner Ryan Barr. However with a very limited run of only 100 worldwide, they are sure to be snapped up quickly. They are scheduled for release in October exclusively through www.ryouki.com. Click the link for more pics and info:

Ryouki - Sneaker Boutique

So your looking to pick up a fresh pair of kicks, but your certainly not about to pitch tent and start queueing up ten days in advance to get that super exclusive s**t. Then again your no slouch when it comes to flexing your trainer muscle, so rocking the standard tat that these big high street chains seem to be continuously peddling just won't cut the mustard. So whats an innocent kicks fiend to do when they have an itch that needs to be scratched?.......well the answers pretty simple....hit the net and hit that s**t hard! Luckily for you though I have saved you all a lot of time by compiling a list of a few of my favourite sneaker spots from around the world. While most of these spots do already offer world wide shipping, if you do come across one that doesn't seem to be playing ball i'm sure a friendly e-mail in your finest chinook jargon will, with any luck, help you to snag yourself a pair of some of those fresh Nike Air 'Mother Theresas' you've had your eye on for so long. Happy shopping!

1. Main Source (UK)
2. Sneakers N Stuff (Sweden)
3. Flight Club NY (US)
4. Essense (Japan)
5. Grandism (Switzerland)
6. Purchaze (Germany)
7. Pick Your Shoes (US)
8. Shoe Planet (Japan)
9. Foot Candy (UK)
10. Patta (Holland)

(Via Sneakerfiles)

In recent years Nike has unfortunately had a bad tendency of butchering some of it's classic models by creating horrible mutant hybrids, using cheap looking materials and opting for highly questionable colour palettes. Fortunately every now and then they still manage to drop something that maintains some of the integrity of their original iconic designs. This Nike Air Classic BW comes in smooth leather and mesh in a Classic Charcoal/Dust-Swan-Black colourway. Evidently not the most adventurous of colourways, but finding this combination of materials on general release BW's has in recent years unfortunately become somewhat of a rarity. They failed to retain the embossed tongue found on the originals (they have opted for a simple stitch instead) but have still managed to capture some of the essence of the originals despite the smaller air units. More pictures and info after the jump.

Available from the following webstores:

JD Sports - Webstore
Pick Your Shoes - Webstore
Purchaze - Webstore
Finishline - Webstore (US only)

(Via Sneakernews)

As any good sneaker fan will know the infa Red colourway was one of the original colourways to first appear when Nike dropped the now iconic Air Max 90 surprisingly enough....in 1990. An exclusive European re-release followed 13 years late in 2003 which saw mainstream spots like JD Sports doing a roaring trade. It was retrod again 2 years later In 2005 as part of Nike's History of Air aka (HOA) Pack which also included a range of classic models in original colourways such as the Air Max 95, Air 180 and Air Max 1 (87) among others. You would think buy this time the fiends would have had enough infa red crack to keep the wolf from the door. But apparently not.

From it's humble beginnings as a small homegrown independent skate label Supra has certainly come a long way over the last couple of years. Although primarily skate orientated (with many of their models being designed by skaters themselves) celebrity endorsements from the likes of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Smantha Ronson, Chris Brown & Lil Wayne has helped propel the label into the realms of 'high fashion'. After Jay-Z's appearance in a pair of Gold Supra Sky Tops (Skater Chad Muska's signature shoe) in Rhianna's Umbrella video it quickly became clear that the company had struck a chord amongst hip hop's fashion elite.

While i'm not a big fan of some of the more garish colourways and not all the models in their range hit the spot, the thing I like about Supra is the way they fuse elements of classic sneaker design with a slightly more grown up 'shoe' type feel, bridging the gap between sportswear and stylised casual wear. While in the past many street wear fashion brands have basically sought to plagiarise the classic silhouettes of late 80's and early 90's Nike and Adidas models ( Bape Stas *cough*) it is refreshing to see a footwear company trying to do something a little bit different. Check the full range here...

Supra Footwear - Website

Way before the likes of Roger Federer and Raphael Nadal entered the frame, in a decade which pioneered many timeless fashion trends such as tight spandex and the mullet, one man ruled the court. His name.....Andre Agassi. Now here was man a who showed us all that wearing luminous pink and cycling shorts didn't always have to mean you batted for the other team. What a champion. In celebration of his greatness Nike have decided to re-release the second incarnation of his signature shoe the Air Tech Challenge II. While they may not be built quite like they were back then they still make me want to get a high flat top. Happy Days...

Still available at a few 'Size' stores in the Uk and certain select independent spots. Other wise hit the Bay to grab a piece of early 90's gold.