One of the perks of working so close to Oxford Circus is the ability to attend daytime press events in the local vicinity during my lunch break. Chyea. Yesterday Nike invited me down to their UK flagship store to design a silhouette add to the NIKEiD on Oxford Circus, Nike Town. Anyone who’s been reading the site will know that I used to be quite the sneakerhead and buying iDs would frequently massacre my bank account. More on the reverse.

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The new shoe that has been added to the customisable iD range is the Premium Edition Toki. It’s very refined Chukka-esque model, mid-high, with a gum sole. What makes this model that little bit more special? You can pretty much customise every aspect of it (excluding the lower sole). With the help of Matt, I naturally went for a brown upper, red inner, monsoon blue mid-sole plus a few other finer stitching details.

The colours? An on trend heritage based leather palette with a lot of browns and muted which gives it a classy feel. You can even customise eyelets and stitch details, I decided to keep it simple with mine and let the leather do the talking. I’ll photograph the results when my sneaker arrives in the mail. For now have a gander at the process images below. Check out the NIKEiD Facebook here.

P.S. The photographer at NIKEiD Suite yesterday was one of the twins off Skins Season 3. Weird.

December 1st marks the World Aids Day and Nike are teaming up with charity (RED) again by releasing a new collection in red to raise awareness and to inspire action to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. Although Nike have been in controversial sweatshop/fair trade scandals over the years, they’ve definitely cleaned up their act and giving back is always the best answer. They’ve developed a strong tradition of utilising the power of sport to elevate global causes using their sponsored athletes, product and sports events to ignite engagement. The collection features 3 items – A Melton Destroyer (which I think should have been called Peacoat Destroyer for comedy reasons), Cheyenne Backpack and the technical Zoom Meriweather. All of the products stream quality, fine leather, waterproof construction with the Nike x (RED) branding over it. More on the reverse.

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I dig the destroyer, always have done but never been able to actually cough up a good £350/400 for one. The red on this is a tad too saturated and in your face for me personally.

It’s drawing ever closer to that time where we share gifts with our loved ones. Now I know Christmas isn’t all about presents and all that jazz but lets face it, in this day and age it’s the first thing that we think about when the word Christmas is brought up. For the next couple of weeks i’ll post things that sit nicely on my wish list for this year, hopefully my mum will read this and take notes. Check out these Louis Vuitton Slalom Sneakers and let me know what y’all think. They retail at close to £600 which I know is excessive for sneakers but if i had the money y’all already know i’d be a mess when buy shoes left right and centre.

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Wow. I’m not a sneaker man any more, shoes are my thing but DQM and Vans have managed to combine the qualities and key attributes of a sneaker and shoe to create this wonderful inaugural collaboration collection. The pack features three refreshed colourways of the classic Vans silhouettes – Chukka Decon, Midskool and Era. This Autumn themed pack comes in military green, vegetable tan and oxblood premium leather uppers. The icing on the cake = canvas camouflage interior lining. Not that anyone will ever see it, well unless you visit an Indian family house where its customary to take your shoes off. This collection screams classy, refined and quality – when they drop you can purchase from DQM‘s online store and get them shipped over to my house. Thanks.

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We all know footwear is a weakness of mine and i’m pretty sure i’ve expressed my major lack of funds as of late so it will come as no surprise that while I can sit here and write a post about Clae‘s new 2011 Autumn/Winter Collection I sit here writing with a slight heartbreak at the fact that I will not be able to go on a spending spree purchasing some of these designs. So what I would like you all to do is buy a pair of your favourite to make up for my lack of spend power. I’m going to end the post here now because I’m feeling slightly emotional about my current state lol, peep the collection after the jump.

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DROOL. Major drool. Recognise the silhouette? Looks familiar doesn’t it. I’m sure luxury shoe brand Feit took inspiration from Nike‘s hi-top blazer sneaker. I’d be lying if I said I’d heard of this brand before, they’re definitely luxury with the price range. £200+ but that the appeal is too much, I want. The brand’s latest Hand Sewn Reconnaissance collection features a Hand Sewn Superclean Low, High and Stitchdown model in three different leather colourways. Each one has been constructed using the brand’s unique building process – all handmade. That’s a rarity, I don’t mind paying that much money for a pair of kicks that are limited. This collection should be available at select retailers worldwide soon.

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Oh boy. I was invited down to Nike‘s PR agency a few days ago to photograph these babies for Hypebeast. With the sneaker world still recovering from the seizure caused by the Air Mag unveiling, this beautifully crafted Air Max 1 hyperfuse probably sent many into coma. No joke ting. I haven’t ever worn a pair, nor liked them till I came across the pink pair and now these. Lawd, the hyperfuse technology and minimalist look adds to its overall sneaker sex appeal. More on the reverse.

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I know nothing about the history of the Air Max. It’s something I’ll read up on when I get a chance to. This sneaker was exclusively created for the England rugby team as part of a special pack which also contains Beats By Dre headphones that feature the English rose and Nike swoosh. The whole pack is SLICK, the all black everything look is perfect. NikeID have launched this limited edition England Rugby inspired sneaker to commemorate the team’s new 100% black change of kit to mark the start of the Rugby World Cup.

What really sets these kicks off is the Hyperfuse technology. The lack of stitching adds to the minimalistic look of the sneaker. The bold words ‘New Blood‘ in red are a nice touch, it’s a celebration of the fresh crop of youngsters in the Rugby team. Also if you’re very lucky, well if you play for the Rugby team then you’ll have got your hands on the pack that contain the sneakers and a custom pair of Nike x Beats by Dre with the iconic English Rugby rose.

A limited number of the kicks will be on sale at Nike’s 1948 store in East London this weekend for £125. GO GO GO.

It may seem a lil strange that i’m posting about a store opening in France however due to the fact that it is not your average store opening its doors I knew I had to write about it. Christian Louboutin opened its first ever mens only store, located in Galerie Véro-Dodast in Paris, this week. I have been a distant admirer of Louboutin kicks for men for quite some time and would love to see the brands second mens only store open here in London. Yang is currently in Paris so I think I should drop him a message and tell him to bring me back a pair of these. See pics of the store on the flipside.

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Gosh, every blog in the world has posted about this before us. In fact a few readers have wondered why we haven’t already posted it – work deadlines. I’m sure you’ve all seen and read everything about the Nike Mag already but I felt compelled to post it. Not because I loved watching BTTF back to back in my younger years, though admittedly I’d be more than willing to use my life savings to get me a working Delorean. This sneaker launch really isn’t for the average ‘sneakerhead’ or the type who stupidly camp outside stores, it’s for the rich who are looking to purchase a piece of memorabilia. The plus side is all of the money raised will be dedicated the Michael J Fox foundation. More on the reverse.

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For those who don’t know, he suffers from Parkinson’s. If you’ve known anyone that suffers from the degenerative disorder then you’ll know how depressing it is – it’s hard to sit back and watch their health depreciate right infront of your eyes. The inability to do nothing with all the technological advances we make on a daily basis shocks me so a few million from this campaign will only reap positives and hopefully take giant leaps in finding a cure.

I’m surprised Nike didn’t hold out till 2015 to launch the sneaker though, would have made more sense since it was the date in the film. Ah well, it’s all for a good cause so sooner they discover a cure the better.

I’ve compiled a plethora of images and videos on the Nike Mag below. My favourite has to be the extended advert which is meant to be a ‘Lost Scene‘ from the original Back to the Future films and characters. Nike went all out and got 2 of the original cast members, Christopher Lloyd & Donald Fullilove plus the likes of Bill Hader, Kevin Durant and Nike Mag designer Tinker Hatfield. It’s a really nicely done viral for the campaign which has pretty much blown up everywhere over the past few days. Excellent marketing as always between the mega brand and Wieden and Kennedy.

There will also be one pair available to buy at private auction in London on Sunday 18th September. Serious bidders should apply by emailing backforthefuture.london@nike.com and for those wanting to see this iconic shoe in the flesh, there will be a pair on display at Niketown London from Wednesday 14th September for five days. Will you be bidding for a pair? I need to win the euro millions to do so. Tinie Tempah won the first pair for 38.9k. The rest are on Ebay - click here. 150 pairs are to be sold each day. I’ll wait till 2015 when the self-lacing is supposedly going to drop :-.

How did I miss this when it was originally unveiled in June? Woah. This might be the very first Mr. Hare shoe that I will be able to afford, at least I hope so. My bank account should permit me to spend a sufficient amount without feeling guilt, these are more than likely to be less than £150. Mr. Hare’s shoes in recent seasons have always mixed and matched colours, materials and silhouettes – this is not different. The combination of patent black and white makes for an ideal evening wear shoe – I certainly don’t think every man would be able to pull these off. It’s going to take another level of confidence for me to wear these, in fact I may have to invest in a whole new outfit to work with one of these shoes. Haha. More on the reverse.

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According to my sources, these should be on sale towards the end of the month. The folks over at Hypebeast are giving away 3 pairs.