Sneaker Freaker

"A Bandai and Nike collaboration model limited to 450 pairs. They were sold exclusively only at the Bandai museum store in Tokyo, Japan."
Marc Liew, 2006 on his Nike Shox VC II (Bandai Edition)

For some reason, I got drawn into looking at sneakers. Initially, I wanted to see what the sports apparel market was like in Australia online. Then I got drawn into checking out sneaker stores and sneaker websites. I had hoped to see if there were any boutique sneakers stores online, with the possibility of investigating at opening one. Nice sneakers are expensive in Australia and we are limited with the styles and ranges that we have.


I came across this exhibition that was held in Melbourne, Australia last year called "Classic to Customs". When I saw the name, I thought mad. I've picked some one of the more interesting designs that appealed to me (and shoes that I wanted as a kid). The motivations of some of the sneaker collectors are exactly that - shoes that they wore as a kid, or wanted to buy in 80's or 90's and couldn't. Then they started working, grew up and went back and bought the shoes they wanted.





"This customization is based on the 1980s cartoon Transformers and carries the name ‘Rupture’ as the pattern depicts a ruptured Transformer’s body. Inside the design is hidden text, names and even an original Transformer."

- Sekure D, 2006

"The Nike collaboration with LA sneaker boutique store Undefeated led to a sneaker that was limited to four pairs (in the Purple colourway) in Melbourne. The only way to obtain a pair was by winning a raffle that gave the winner the option to “buy” the shoe. I was fortunate enough to be one of the four winners of this exceptional sneaker and have yet to brave cracking them out of their box to wear. A true gem!"

- Maria Limberis, 2006

"This is a very special shoe. It is the first mid sole running shoe and it set the benchmark for mid sole runners well into the future. Before Bill Bowerman and Nike made shoes they imported a number of models from Onitsuka Tiger to sell. This shoe was in a Nike employee’s garage and had never been worn for some thirty years. It is important not only for its rarity but also for its role within the history of the Nike and Asics/ Tiger corporations."

Onitsuka Tiger Spring
1969

"I had been admiring Astoria VIII’s work for a few months before I contacted them to do this custom. The detail that they put into their customs is amazing, so I knew I had to come up with an idea to match their skill. After running through a few different ideas, I finally settled on a Yakuza theme. I had always been amazed by full body suit tattoos and wanted that translated into a shoe. I still remember the first time I got the pictures of the finished custom via email, my jaw dropped. The level of detail is amazing and every time I look I find more and more details. I still rate this shoe as one of the best customs done ever!"
Brett Pooley, 2006 on his Yakuza V1 (Nike Delta Force 3/4)

If you want to check out more of the sneakers, click here. I'm also checking out these sneaker websites:

Sneaker Freaker Magazine
New Australian Brand called Hops

I'm out like sneaker collections,

DJ Ho.