Dr Martens Stuff Collaboration

Dr. Martens X Yohji Yamamoto

Following the success of the Autumn–Winter collaboration, Dr. Martens is proud to announce the continuation of their partnership with designer Yohji Yamamoto on a limited edition line of premium femme footwear for Spring–Summer 2008.

The collection, featuring Yamamoto’s unique interpretation of classic Dr. Martens design cues, comprises of three key silhouettes, the 10 Eye Zip Boot, the Chelsea Boot and the 14 Eye Zip Boot.

The striking collection has been crafted using premium, soft malleable leathers with the 10 Eye Zip Boot and Chelsea Boot available in rich black and incandescent silver leathers. The 14 Eye Zip Boot features a series of exclusive prints designed in conjunction with one of Kyoto’s finest kimono printers. Rich in colour and adding vibrancy to a design classic, the two intricate print stories ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Dragon’ are a tribute to ancient Chinese prints, brought to the 21st century by Yohji Yamamoto.

The collection is characterised by both the iconic Dr. Martens Originals silhouette with each boot featuring the recognisable yellow-waxed stitch and translucent sole. To further accentuate the partnership, the insole of each individual boot bears the signature of the designer.

Raf Simons X Dr. Martens

Lately, Dr. Martens has been collaborating with high fashion designers. Their last collaboration was with Yohji Yamamoto. Announced at the Bread & Butter show (Barcelona clothing fair), this time they are collaborating with Raf Simons. These shoes will be available for spring 2009. The third pair of shoes; a hybrid of boots and sandals, is revolting yet intriguing at the same time. I’ll have to check those out.

Zena - For the stylish and fashionable lady

The zipped collection is directional and contemporary with its focus on simplistic yet impactful design features. The front zip detail and simple design combined with the pointed front, also used by Yohji Yamamoto, gives this collection a unique edge. The zipped boots are available in two colours, white and black, at $199, from October 2008.

Patent Boots – For the artsy and fashion forward

The classic Dr. Martens silhouettes have been injected with new seasonal colours and trendy materials, turning them into artsy stripe patents. This new series adds a luscious shade to the patent collection, and is available in three colours black + silver (unisex), black + yellow (unisex), and black + rose (for women). These trendy and popular patent boots are priced at $199, and will be available from October 2008.

Monkey Boot and Desert Boot – For the sub-culture follower

This Autumn, Dr. Martens has created boots for men inspired by iconic sub-cultural fashion favourites. The Monkey boot, a lightweight summer boot favoured by Skins, and the Desert boot, favoured by Mods are the new classics. The seven eyelet Monkey boot is available at $199 for black, brown and $209 for sand. The two eyelet Desert boot is available in black and brown at $179. Both boots are available from October 2008.

IKON.. Mod for it...

IKON draws inspiration from the 60’s British music and fashion scene, through to modern day.

Let music be food to the soul. Let your soles be fed by wearing Ikon.The past decade has seen IKON develop its own blend of dapper and smart formal footwear along with a unique mix of casual and summer wear.

IKON products are designed, developed and produced with passion, flair and a commitment to style, quality and functionality. IKON produces collections around the structure of traditional seasons but maintains a fluid approach and introduces many new styles throughout the year.

Fashion comes from the street and is for the street - everyone must feel great in what they wear.

The 1990's – A decade which gave us The Spice Girls, Friends TV show, and our first Harry Potter novel. Dolly the sheep was cloned and Mad Cow Disease spread through-out our countryside.The Labour Party re-brands as New Labour and Tony Blair at 43, becomes the youngest Prime minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812.The Premier league launched; Three Lions rang out on our terraces and in our bars.Lad’s culture found its voice through magazines such as FHM and Loaded.

Music in Britain became great once again and drew comparisons to the swinging sixties.A rich vein of creative talent came to the fore in the shape of bands such as The Verve, Suede, Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and Ocean Colour Scene, to name just a few.Britpop was born and became a buzz word of the 90’s. Fashion took its place alongside Football and Music in the heart of 1990’s man.David Beckham and football’s new millionaire celebrities signalled a new era for men; they no longer required encouragement or an invitation to look good.This provided a greater freedom for men to experiment with grooming products, hairstyles, clothes and ultimately what they put on their feet.The details made the man; Footwear was no longer just an afterthought.

IKON’s founder having spent many years designing, developing and supplying footwear collections for major UK retailers such as Clarks, Dolcis, Barratts, NEXT, Marks & Spencer and Kenneth Cole in the US, noticed a gap in the men’s market for stylish and independently branded footwear, he knew the time was right to venture into the world of creating his own label.

Developing that initial idea from scratch into a recognised brand was a huge task, and his partner was recruited in the late summer of 1997 to make IKON a reality.The first IKON collections were launched in the autumn of 1997.

IKON has enjoyed organic growth; and development has been nurtured with care.The first collections in 1997 were sold through three famous retailers, DOLCIS, TOPMAN and BARRATTS.Over the past decade more retailers such as SCHUH, RAVEL, SOLE TRADER, JONES THE BOOTMAKER, RUSSELL & BROMLEY and BRANTANO along with numerous independents have embraced the IKON brand.

Retail outlets stocking the IKON brand total in excess of 500 throughout the UK and Ireland, in a variety of famous footwear and clothing stores and many individual independent menswear retailers.

2002 December - IKON relocates into a brand new head office and warehouse facility, allowing greater flexibility and operational control for product development, sales and distribution.

2004 IKON launches i2 Brand – a younger diffusion line of IKON mainline products. Now available to see at http://www.i2footwear.co.uk/

2005 IKON products are available to buy on line.Ikon works closely with Brit rockers the Kaiser Chiefs and collaborate to create “The Employment” Vespa, which makes front cover of Scootering magazine.

2006 IKON launch the Original Ikon Collection – a fantastic mix of classic and retro footwear with a modern twist, inspired by music genres past and present.

2007 IKON launches new look website and looks forward to celebrating its 10th Anniversary and the release of its first compilation cd.

Glen Wearing IKON Original..

"The Attack" Wearing IKON

Jaime Hayon’s shoes for Camper

He designed shops for Camper. Now watch out for Jaime Hayon’s shoes for the Spanish brand.
Jaime Hayon, who is a great lover of the classic shoe, wanted to include in his proposal, good materials and the quality of the traditional English shoe with the aesthetic and character of those produced by the Majorcan firm Camper. ‘The added feature of sole injection, that is so representative of Camper, gives the shoe a more sporty form,’ says Hayon. Everything else holds Hayon’s unmistakable stamp. ‘I wanted to find a form that stylized the foot, like the tap dancing shoes. I have always liked the character of dance shoes because they remind me of a music-hall.’
The new shoes come with a lot of colour. ‘Women’s shoes are a constant inspiration, contrary to those for men that aren’t as exciting. I wanted to make a simple shoe but one that had character, in solid colours but special enough to give identity to a way of dressing. If for me, and also for many others, glasses are important in creating the personality of a person, I think that shoes should be so too.’ Hayon defines his design as a sporty shoe with a touch of elegance, that hides some surprises that make it all the more special, like the feel of the laces or the linen interior. The shoe combines the most characteristic codes of his work as an artist and designer: the fusion of styles, soft and organic forms, the mix of materials and the quality of its manufacturing.

Adidas + Vespa = Vesda...

For Spring/Summer 2009 adidas has a lot of interesting projects aligned. One of them, the Jeremy Scott collection, we have already presented extensively. Here we give you a first look at the collaboration collection with Italian scooter maker Vespa.

Inspired by the 50s and 60s, adidas presents a sneaker and apparel collection. The stand-out piece in the collection will be the Vespa Gran Lusso sneaker, heavily influenced by the scooter brand and its history.

Take a further look at the adidas x Vespa Spring/Summer 2009 collection after the jump.

T.U.K, The Punk Step..

T.U.K. (or Tread United Kingdom) is a British boot and shoe manufacturer, who has maintained popularity with the British punk scene as they are on of the few remaining boot makers who are based in the United Kingdom. T.U.K shoes are inspired by the music, fashion and art of the punk scene. They are famous for their boots, rockabilly inspired heels and brothel creepers, but also make sneakers and trainers. They refer to themselves as the "staple of underground rock~n~roll." T.U.K. is mostly known to specialize in footwear for the goth, punk, and rockabilly scene. T.U.K. is popularly found in goth and punk stores.

Green Day Wear T.U.K Shoes....

Gola Sneakers

Gola Harrier...

Gola Harrier 40th AnniversaryWith the sneaker culture exploding, it's easy to forget that sneakers themselves have been around since your pops called them tennis shoes despite exclusively wearing them while sitting around watching moon landings. Pick up an original: the Gola Harrier 40th Anniversary.
Born in 1905 as a soccer-boot maker, Brit outfit Gola unleashed the Harrier in '68 as a proto cross trainer ideal for squash, badminton, volleyball, and taking off vertically without a runway. Though by modern standards this one-time super-shoe's barely suitable for crawling, it does retain a classically sharp look: low profile outsole, gum-rubber toe bumper, and Gola's simple logo -- all together, the diametric opposite of Skidz. The two-color upper schemes come in retro simple (white leather with red/black/green/blue suede accents, or reversed), or jazzier new looks like orange w/ black accents -- helpful for escaping the clutches of Jefferson Davis "Boss" Hogg in order to spend more time with your troublingly hot cousin.Of course Gola didn't stop with the Harrier, in the interim coming out with styles like the Euro driving-shoe-ish Chase, the hi-top Dodge, and the Tap, with velcro -- an offshoot of the space program, and now the only way Buzz Aldrin can keep his shoes on.

Gola Vibe..

Gourmet brought it back towards the end of 2007 with their all Canvas basic models that drew inspiration from an obvious basketball player’s line of signature shoes. Now it seems that Canvas is the “it” material to use on shoes. Gola is re-releasing their Vibe’s in three different colorways, featuring an all canvas upper and a rubber outsole, aside from the silhouette different from the Gourmet shoes, there is a strong similarity.

Gola X Christian Lacroix Colab...

Gola is having a bash at the ubiquitous colab. The Great British sports brand has perhaps a real ACE of a colab in a sea of mediocrity, by colaborating with Christian Lacroix. Gola Trainers are a true British classic in every conceivable way. The brand is indelibly printed in the consciousness of every sports mad Brit on the planet and today this classic brand is set to shares its history, style and innovation with the rest of the globe luckly old globe!
The Gola by Christian Lacroix collection for SS09 takes its inspiration from the designer™s house pattern Torero Cape™ and comprises two men™s and two women™s styles. The luxurious designs offer a twist on classic sport footwear by incorporating elements and techniques signature to the French fashion house, such as rich leathers, intricate embroidery and embossing. The collection will be sold globally through selected stores in 20 countries as of January 2009.
Christian Lacroix commented: In a way, trainers are to the 21st century what shimmering ties and multicoloured vests were to the dandies of the 19th century - a distinctive sign, a personal signature. That is the perspective from which I prefer to view fashion, rather than that of uniformity. Given carte blanche by Gola, I took the opportunity, with much gratitude, to bring the modernity of a contemporary and popular brand together with the timeless baroque of an iconic design of our Couture House: the embroideries of a torero cape.

Gola By Jonathan Saunders

Gola The Classic Sneakers

TimeLine..

1905
On the 22nd of May the Gola brand was born. To date no one is entirely sure how the great name came about, it is said to have been an anagram of the word Goal.

1930's
Gola’s first Ad campaign was ‘Gola means Goals’ this was used on the sides of buses.

1939-1944
Gola did its bit for Britain by making boots for the army during World War II.

1965
Shankly’s famous Liverpool team stopped off at the Gola factory on their way to the FA Cup final at Wembley for some free boots. Adidas approached the team at Wembley and paid them to wear their boots. The cheeky scousers took Adidas’ money but did not wear their boots, instead they painted Adidas stripes onto their Gola boots and went on to win the cup.

1968
The birth of Gola’s flagship ‘Harrier’ training shoe.

1970's
Footballing legend Sir Alf Ramsay joined Gola’s board of directors and acted as an ambassador for the brand. In this decade Gola football boots were worn by the likes of Tommy Smith, Emlyn Hughes, Gerry Francis, Trevor Brooking and Peter Shilton.

1974
Mark Cox tennis shoe range is launched, which was quickly followed by the Barry John rugby range and the Alan Knott cricket range.

1975
Gola supplies training kits to Manchester United.

1977
Stan Bowles walks out for England vs Netherlands wearing one Gola and one Adidas boot, having accepted money from both companies. He scored in the game and rumour has it that the ball was struck by the Gola boot.

1981
Gola sponsors popular boy’s football comic hero Roy Race and his team Melchester Rovers, of the comic Roy of the Rovers. Player/manager Roy was shot JR style the same month.

1984-1986
Gola sponsors the Conference league, it was known as the Gola League.

1999
The Gola Classics range is launched and Noel Gallagher calls Gola to request a pair of ‘Harrier’ trainers for himself and ‘r kid’.

2003
Gola developed the striking Kaleidoscope ad campaign!.

2004
The Gola Classics Taxi sets out on its mystery world tour, where will it stop nobody knows.

2005
Gola celebrates its 100th birthday.

2008
2008 marks the 40th Anniversary of Gola’s oldest training shoe, the ‘Harrier’. To celebrate this iconic trainer, Gola has reverted back to the original styling and construction.

Asic Onitsuka Tiger - Freak Sneakers

History

ASICS (株式会社アシックス, (Kabushiki-gaisha Ashikkusu) is an athletic equipment company that started in 1949 when Kihachiro Onitsuka began manufacturing sports shoes at his home in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Asics produces shoes designed for football, running, tennis, squash,martial arts, cricket, golf, wrestling, track & field, cross-training, volleyball, cheerleading, lacrosse, and for many other sports.

Initially the company was known as Onitsuka Tiger, and was famous for their Mexico 66 line of shoes and their distinctive stripes. In 1977, Onitsuka Tiger merged with GTO and JELENK to form ASICS Corporation. Despite the name change, a vintage range of Asics shoes are still produced and sold internationally under the Onitsuka Tiger label.

The name of the company "ASICS" is an acronym of the Latin phrase "anima sana in corpore sano" which translates to "a healthy soul in a healthy body" or "a sound mind in a sound body". Since 2007 there has been a larger emphasis placed on this acronym.

Types of Onitsuka Tiger

Mexico 66

In 1966 Onitsuka brought out the Mexico 66, this has been imortalised Quentin Tarantinos Kill Bill with Uma Thurman. Bruce Lee was a fan of Onitsuka and wore a pair in Game of Death. The Mexico 66™ shoe was launched in 1966 and has been an Onitsuka Tiger classic ever since. These were the first shoes with the famous Tiger Stripes. Over the year it has been produced in a huge variety of limited-edition colourway.

Mexico 66 Version II

Mexico 66 Baja Version

Injection DX

Injection DX - Kill Bill Edition (Only In Yellow)

Fall /Winter Collection

Onitsuka Tiger continues to impress with their new Fall/Winter collection including the Coolidge lo as well as hi and lo top versions of the Seck. Onitsuka experiments with new materials and unique colorways for this well rounded collection. The collection will retail from $115 usd -$155 USD.

Runsparks

Colette

Famed Paris retailer Collete has collaborated with Onitsuka Tiger for this limited edition hi top featuring a star studded print and trimmed with Collete’s trademark blue.

Tokidoki

Tokidoki is a Japanese-inspired lifestyle brand created by and based around the cartoon figures of Italian artist Simone Legno. The Onitsuka Tiger X Tokidoki sneakers stay true to the colorful world of Tokidoki and feature appearances by some of Tokidoki’s most iconic characters, including Adios, Mozzarella, and Sandy. Curiously, a few days ago a pair of women’s boots inexplicably popped up on eBay and sold for $222.50.

Onitsuka Tiger has announced four forthcoming collections (two a year for the next two years) with tokidoki, Italian artist Simone Legno’s colorful world of sprightly characters influenced by Japanese art and culture. This will be an interesting collaboration between a sneaker rooted in Japanese culture and history and an artist rooted in the Italian interpretation of Japanese culture and history.