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words & interviews by Mrs Teriyaki
Over the weekend, I hit up the UK’s largest sneaker event, Crepe City, to get an on-pulse response from a few folks as to where they think sneaker culture is and what they expect to see coming next year.
This is my third time to the CC, and I tried to speak to people with slightly different tastes within the game as to get more variety in the responses.
What was the best sneaker release to you in 2017 and why?
@ediz: The NikeLab Zoom Fly silhouette. I love comfy sneakers and for me, the UltraBOOST has dominated in this department since it came on the scene and I feel like Nike really needed something to rival it as I don’t find ‘Air’ that comfy. I’ve been waiting a few years now and I feel like they really smashed it out the park with the Vaporfly 4% and the Zoom Fly SP. It’s a light, well-cushioned shoe that looks amazing. The innovation of the carbon plate and Zoom X takes them to next level for me, that feeling of being propelled forward. I haven’t really had that sensation from a shoe before.
Is the Yeezy Boost 350 played out at this point?
@ediz: The V2 yes, there has been too many releases and colourways. I sold all of my pairs, I got bored of them.
What is your personal holy grail and why?
@ediz: The Nike Air Yeezy 2 Solar. It took me around 3 years to get mine, but I finally got ’em deadstock. It’s my favourite shoe. I’ve been a Kanye West fan since day one so when I saw that shoe I fell in love. Kanye was definitely better when he partnered with Nike.
In 2017, do you dress from the ground up or let other articles of clothing direct your outfit?
@ediz: Ground up, definitely. Always pick the shoes first, and then base everything around ’em.
Do you come to events like CC more to meet and converse with fellow sneakerheads or to pick up rare finds?
@ediz: I come for the people; I don’t usually have something in mind when I come, I just keep an open mind and my options open. Something usually comes up! I do want to start branching out to other UK sneaker events to see what’s different and what this vibe is like. Here there’s a lot of hype, whereas elsewhere it seems like there could be more sneakerheads. It might not be true that’s just the feeling I get.
What trends do you want to see end in 2018?
@ediz: I think the chunky sneaker (eg. Balenciaga) will last throughout 2018 but I think the Yeezy V2s will die down and probably end now that the Waverunner is coming out. I think the Ultraboost will fade out too.
What has been your favourite release this year?
@lengjai_dunknow: Kaws Jordan 4 (Grey colourway).
Is the Adidas Yeezy Boost 350 played out too far?
@lengjai_dunknow: Yeah, completely. To me, they’re not the most attractive shoe and they don’t really hold any heritage behind them. It was a shoe of the moment – compared to the Kaws Jordan 4. Kaws is a street artist and he has put the Companion design into a shoe that I really like, so the details of the shoe also have a legacy.
What is your personal holy grail and why?
@lengjai_dunknow: The first and second set of the Nike Air Yeezys because that is never going to happen again. And there was a meaning behind it because he infused some of my favourite shoes into one shoe. The Yeezy 1 has a Jordan 3 sole and I’m a big Jordan fan. The Jordan 3 soles are also one of the most comfortable Jordan soles you can get, let alone the whole idea to create something that looks like an Air Mag, that was cool.
In 2017, do you dress from the ground up? Sneakers first?
@lengjai_dunknow: Sneakers first, always sneakers first. I used to do it the other way around, but nowadays I don’t try. If I want to wear a pair of sneakers, then anything will go.
What trends will die in 2018?
@lengjai_dunknow: The Yeezys. Think about the whole Yeezy season 1, 2, 3, 4 and now again 5, the demand of it is depreciating immensely and you can only rinse a certain silhouette out after dropping 20 different colourways of it. So what’s to come? Another 20 colourways next year? Unless it gets re-invented, I think Yeezys are done next year. Just like how the NMD hype died, the NMD was a 5-minute hot thing – that died so quickly. Adidas had it for maybe, 70% of last year, but then Nike has killed it. They reached out to the collaborations that Adidas will never get.
What has been the best sneaker to release this year?
@morprime: The first thing that comes to mind is the Off-White Blazers. It’s really hard to say without seeing them all or remembering what I copped this year.
Your personal holy grail and why?
@morprime: If I could have one shoe above everything, it would be the self-lacing Mags, the ones that just came out via auction because I know it is a shoe that I’ll never be able to get. The ones that don’t self-lace, yeah they are cool but the self-lacing ones, that’s mad. It takes me back actually, probably the Hyper Adapt is my favourite shoe that released this year.
In 2017 do you dress from the ground up or does your outfit dictate what you wear?
@morprime: I’m very footwear orientated, I don’t really care about what I wear. I tend to wear sweatpants and a white t-shirt, something really basic and then normally bang out the kicks like Spiridons or something. Today I’m wearing the Gary Warnetts, a friend of mine who passed away so I’m wearing his shoes. Everything else is just low key.
What is it like to see the sneaker genre so celebrated in 2017?
@morprime: For me, it’s a good thing and a bad thing. I think nowadays there are people who are getting recognition when maybe they don’t deserve it. It would be nice to see the right people get the opportunities.
What do you see for 2018?
@morprime: I think we will see the end of Jordans in early 2018, then it’s going to kick back up hard towards the end of the year. I don’t think Dunks will come back, we’ve had that and they didn’t do so well. The Air Max 98 is going to be the shoe for next year. It will be huge and we should see a lot of collaborations around it next year. I know there will be more Off-Whites too!
A big thank you to Ed, Geoffrey and Morgan for their time and convo. It was really cool to hear people’s opinions and chat about the one thing that brings us together.
What do you think about the position the sneaker culture is in? Would you agree with what’s been said?
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