Real Kool Shit

The Air Flow is by far one of the most visually interesting shoes to come out of Nike.  Designed by the same dude who created the ubiquitous Air Force 1, Bruce Kilgore, it combines a neoprene upper with a flexible sole and is comfortable as all get out.  Supposedly some Kilgore’s inspiration came from a Teddy Bear.  The Air Flow would itself go on to inspire future Nike running shoes, like the Prestos, Frees, and Huaraches (when are THOSE gonna release again, hmm Nike?).

These originally released in the Summer of 2011 in very limited numbers and sold out instantly.  After that, they started showing up on eBay and Flight Club for 300-400 USD.  Yeah, no.  Still, for some crazy reason I never gave up on the idea of owning a pair.  A few months ago I did a random search on Rakuten for them and, shock of all shocks, there they were in my size at retail price.  Can you say robocopped with the quickness?

Here’s hoping Nike brings out even more 80s era running shoes for me to obsess over.

Jordan Brand done lost their minds.

Or…have they?

It was reported a few days ago that two highly anticipated Jordan Brand releases for this holiday season would have their prices jacked up beyond what the shoes normally cost.  Both the Air Jordan 4 “Bred” and Air Jordan 11 “Bred” are set to drop at the end of the year.  Jordan retros now cost $160, which is already up from the $150 they had been retailing at since at least 2007 (maybe earlier, but that was the year I bought my first pair of Jordans).  However, the Bred 4s were set at $180 and the 11s were set at $200.  People bitched and moaned, and now the prices are set at $160 for the 4s and $180 or something for the 11s.  And everyone’s happy again.

That is the problem, though.  Everybody’s happy.  The thing is, Jordan Brand got their price increase in anyway…they just made it smaller.  Holiday drops for 11s had been $175 previously, and now it looks like they’re going to be $180 going forward.  Sure, it’s “only” $5, but that’s where it starts.  It’s a small enough increase that people won’t complain, but what happens when it starts going up $5 every other year or something?  Then JB has it’s $25 extra markup, just later rather than sooner.  And the people who buy shoes won’t even notice because they’ll have forgotten how much the shoes originally cost and will instead be comparing the price increases to the price from the year before.

Raising prices isn’t necessarily bad if the product is either really great or improved from what came before…but with Jordan Brand especially that has not been the case at all.  With JB it’s the higher the price, the lower the quality.   My AJ 8 “Aqua” retros have held up surprisingly well with 5 years of semi consistent wear, but I doubt I’ll be saying the same thing 5 years from now about my AJ 3 and 4 Cement retros.  The materials have gotten worse, the construction has gotten worse, the paint jobs have gotten worse…yet they still charge as much as they do for a product that’s inferior to one that was released 20+ years ago in some cases?

Can I really blame JB, though?  Or should I blame myself and hte millions of other people who know all these things, yet cause Jordan sell-outs every time a new retro drops?  Jordan Brand knows it has a huge market to exploit, and does so on a regular basis with  its inferior retros of highly coveted shoes.  Buyers readily give JB their money despite bitching about quality and how things used to be in the old days.  Sometimes they even double up on pairs.  The message we’re sending is that it’s totally OK to exploit us, because even if we bitch and moan, we’re still going to line up outside the store to get our shoes or stay up all night long waiting for pairs to drop on Nike.com.

What we need to do is stop giving our hard earned money to a company like Nike/Jordan Brand and just keep it in our wallets.  Or, spend it on companies that actually care about their consumers.  As if often the case, giant corporations only see dollar signs, and nothing will change until they make less money than they were making before.

Camo patterns have been huge in streetwear for the past few years (if not more), but have you ever wondered about the origins of your favorite pattern?  Well wonder no more, as I have wasted my free time to do some research for you!

Woodland - Originally developed around 1981 and used up until the present day.  It is effective when viewed from a long distance, less so when see up close.  This is because battles became less about close quarters combat and more about shooting people from a distance.  It has since been phased out for an updated, digital version.  Law enforcement agencies throughout the US use the pattern for their own, personal uses.

Tiger(stripe) - Developed for close-range use in dense jungle during jungle warfare by the South Vietnamese Armed Forces/US Forces.  It was used heavily during the Vietnam War, and has since been used in different conflicts throughout Southeast Asia and South America.  The French and British also developed their own variations on the pattern.

Dessert - Nicknamed the Chocolate Chip pattern for its color usage and patterns, it was developed in the 60s and used during conflicts in desert climates.  A second version was developed at the beginning of the 90s that was cheaper to produce and better at camouflaging people.  It has since been nicknamed the Coffee Stain pattern.

Duck Hunter - Duck hunter patterns trace their origins to the US M1942 spot pattern camouflage of the Second World War, worn primarily in the Pacific Theater of Operations. Variations of the original pattern were reproduced by numerous American and foreign companies from the 1960s well into the 1990s and were marketed as hunting apparel for sportsmen.  The pattern was especially popular with duck hunters, and though they have moved on to other types of camo, this pattern still bears the name of the hunters who used it most.

Disruptive Pattern Material - Primarily used by British forces, which would explain why it’s primarily used by British streetwear companies.  It’s a variant on woodland camouflage, but is being phased out for a more updated version as Multi Terrain Pattern. 

Perhaps the best shoe of all time?

I’d love to hear the story behind this Nike SB x Frank Kozik collaboration.  A military flight jacket inspired design is not something I would have imagined had you told me the two would be working on a shoe together.  But maybe that’s the point.  Maybe they didn’t want to go down the obvious route of putting bright ass colors everywhere and throwing a Smorkin’ Labbit on the tongue tab.  

Either way, it’s a solid shoe that I’m seriously considering adding to my collection.  Nike SB has really gotten their shit together over the past couple of years.

Really feeling the new season of Fuct.  If I could I’d snatch up all of these tees with the quickness.

Quaddafi Duck

Seeing Doubles

Pixel Orgy (which is actually a photo print of an oil painting)

Fuck The Fed (which totally reminds me of a Supreme shirt from several years ago)

What makes something cool?

• Design?
• Exclusivity?
• Brand name?
• Price?
• Because someone else thinks it’s cool?
• Because someone “important” thinks it’s cool?
• The story behind an item?

Discuss.