Mike Posner, love him or hate him? I’ve been a fan for a while, in fact I randomly stumbled across his music a few years back when he was still in college (university to us!). I actually introduced him to Y&Y readers in our launch week back in November 2009 – click here. A few years on, Posner having now graduated and slowly taking over the music world – having worked with the likes of Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, Justin Bieber and Timbaland in the past year. His hustle has to be respected, Reebok have teamed up with US maestro to launch the Reebok Classics‘ RealFlex campaign in London. He sits down with good folk at Vice to give insight into what it takes to make a classic and shares a little of his story. Hop on after the cut.

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Creativity, individuality and courage are what he highlights as the key ingredients into making a classic.

‘A lot of people have amazing ideas but they’re scared and don’t think they’re deserving of the greatness they could achieve. So they don’t end up achieving it.’

You know how I often talk about having to juggle photography, Y&Y and my day job? It’s worth it, Posner juggled his studies and music career, now look where he is. It’s a process.

‘Thursday I performed in Detroit. Friday I performed in Detroit. Saturday I performed at the University of Dayton. I came back and studied Sunday and Monday. I had three finals on Tuesday, and I had a show on Wednesday….Thursday I had like, a meeting with a professor, and Friday I had a meeting with Jay-Z.’

It’s this inspirational journey and can-do attitude that appealed to Reebok, who partnered with Posner to show the world what it really takes to make a classic. Obviously he’s not made a ‘classic’ just yet in his career, he acknowledges that in the interview but only time will tell. Seriously though, how is his shape-up that defined? It looks photshopp’d on. I need to hire his barber.

The sneakers remind me of the Free 3.0′s. Not bad Reebok.

Nike Nike Nike Nike. You’re probably thinking why I’m posting this soon after Candice’s post on her iD appointment here – well I wanted to check it out with my own eyes and it was a very special launch of Nike’s new space and the 40th anniversary of the Cortez sneaker. If I’m completely honest, I’m not actually that fond of the Cortez. Just not big on the ‘sporty’ looking sneakers unless I wear them for their functional use. This was also the launch of Nike’s second space in Shoreditch’s new shopping complex, Boxpark. The new NIKEiD Studio on the first floor of the site is where fans can design and personalise their own performance and lifestyle footwear. It’s definitely my favourite Nike spot in the city – luxurious, the wood makes it feel like an actual tailor’s workshop and draws filled with inspiration in the form of design books. More on the reverse.

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To celebrate the Cortez’s 40th – Nike teamed up with Intercity to commission four graphic designers (Jrio Bevis, Shantell Martin, Matthew Nicholson and Rose Stallard) to create a limited edition a cover for the new Art & Sole book, inspired by the Nike Cortez and the history of running. The covers are creative – using a mixture of media including print, moving image, sculpture and sneaker-art.

All proceedings made from the auction of these limited editions kicks will go on to support local charity – Art Against Knives. If you don’t know who they are then click here and educate yourself. Their movement is something y’all need to support.

AAK was born from the tragic and unprovoked stabbing of Oliver Hemsley, a 21-year-old student from Central Saint Martin’s College of Art & Design. The vicious attack, which has left Oliver in a wheelchair, took place in Shoreditch, East London, in August 2008. It is the impact of this that drives Art Against Knives to create something positive from such a life-changing experience.

The Art & Sole Cortez iD Project packs – £125

Shantell Martin 11am Saturday 17th March
Jiro Bevis 11am Sunday 18th March
Matthew Nicholson 11am Monday 19th March
Rose Stallard 11am Tuesday 20th March

Right one is off to bed now – I’ve got to get up early and go for a run with a friend. First time! #makeitcount. Have a gander at the imagery and check out the store when you pass through the area.

Oh it’s Miss Tosin from Pinboard again!

Chantelle. Click here if you want to know who she is.

Look who it is… Synamatix from TheDailyStreet

Milkil Pane. His DJ set was dope – straight Hip-Hop.

What do you do when Nike invite you to iD your own pair of Free run 3.0 for your Birthday?  You run as fast as your Lunarswifts will carry you! I had heard a lot about the Nike Boxpark space in Shoreditch but had yet to experience it for myself. Being allowed in the iD department before it was open to the public allowed me to really soak up just how innovative the space was. The Boxpark concept is special as the stores are housed in actual shipping containers!

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With the first in-store interactive screen in Europe, and stylish books by designers and graffiti artists, Nike continue to offer you an entire experience. The white and orange interior was the perfect backdrop to the matching iD iMacs.

I was introduced to iD specialist Matt who talked me through the Free run 3.0 trainers. He first asked me to try one on, as the Free fit is far snugger than any other trainer I’ve ever encountered being that it is an introduction into barefoot running. Therefore it is advised that when you begin, you should use them for very short runs, so your foot muscles can be strengthened.

Once we got the fitting out of the way, we were able to move onto the fun part; the designing. The iD allows you to totally control the visuals of your chosen trainer. I was able to accent the midsole so that it complimented my two pairs of laces. I was also given swatches, so I could see what the color would look like in person. Anyone who has dabbled with online shopping has come across that item which looks nothing like what was advertised, so that was a nice touch.

To finish off, I was able to put words (with up to six characters) on the tongues of my kicks, just to remind people, who I be! I decided to go with my Dad’s name, as it’s the memory of him, which has kept me running so long. Once all was wrapped up, I was given a very boujis looking sleeve containing a credit card size print out of my creation, which I called Watermelon, given the pink and green color way.

I was told that my iD’s would take 4-6 weeks to arrive and after that I would be the only person in the world to own them! I commend Nike for providing such a premium service. Very few people know that for £30 extra, you can create your own personal version of dopeness. Needless to say with such highlight on being ‘original’ within LDN, I’ll say that it would be money very well spent.

Who would have thought the brand most of you refused to wear as a child would evolve in such a way in the past few years?! The creative director deserves props and a big ass paycheck. They’ve managed to successfully make Clarks ‘cool’ again with the help of key influencers around the world, branding specialists and last but by no means least, Vybz Kartel. Foot Patrol held the launch event for the new collection that fuses their shoe making heritage with modern sport tech, using high quality materials and construction to create a collection of a ultra lightweight footwear. The sole is almost as light as a running shoe, not kidding you! More on the reverse.

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Clarks | Foot Patrol

I’m not too happy with my imagery as I rushed taking them because Foot Patrol was absolutely rammed. No space to move inside that nicely designed store. Wish I had a chance to photograph the installations but humans got in my way. Sigh. Don’t worry though, extended feature coming soon…

I’ll leave you with a few photographs of the collection, I prefer the leather and suede models to the Tanner which has a more ‘sporty’ sole. Collection now available at Foot Patrol on Berwick Street.

]]> http://yinnyang.co.uk/2012/03/clarks-sportswear-2012-collection-foot-patrol/feed/ 0 http://yinnyang.co.uk/2012/02/nike-htm-flyknit-launch-run-dem-crew/ http://yinnyang.co.uk/2012/02/nike-htm-flyknit-launch-run-dem-crew/#comments Mon, 27 Feb 2012 10:22:01 +0000 Yin http://yinnyang.co.uk/?p=41152

Just before I met up with the family on Saturday, I headed down to Nike‘s 1948 space to check out the launch of the revolutionary FlyKnit trainer collection. The space itself was dope, it’s Nike! come on now – visually always on point. I’m not one for trainers, especially the technical kind so I didn’t really know why these were so special until I picked them up; unbelievably light – probably as light as your iPhone. Still, what makes them so revolutionary? The Nike FlyKnit is precisely engineered using yarns and fabric variations by one machine. No stitching involved.  They’re manufactured by one machine using a single ball of string, takes around a hour for each trainer. More on the reverse.

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Nike – Website | Facebook | Twitter

There are just three shoes in the HTM Flyknit collection: HTM Racer, HTM Trainer+ Grey, and the HTM Trainer+ Black. The HTM racer launched on Saturday at 12pm, best believe there was a guy camping outside since Midday Friday. I really hope he can run as fast as Bolt with them. The HTM+ Trainer Grey and Black will drop next month. The whole collection should be available worldwide in the Summer so don’t worry if you miss out!

HTM signifies the on-going collaboration between style leader Hiroshi Fujiwara, Nike design legend Tinker Hatfield and Nike Inc. CEO and designer Mark Parker. Since 2002, the three have worked together to amplify new innovations, reinterpret existing designs and explore concepts that take the brand to new places.

Another reason for heading down was to catch the RDC clique – few of my friends and Y&Y writer Candice is part of the movement. Just following these guys has led to me to start ‘running’ – seeing them auto tweet from the Nike+ app ‘just completed a XX mile run…’ made me feel like a lazy ass. Their lives are just as hectic as mine and yet they manage to fit running and keeping fit into their schedules.

What’s stopping me from doing the same? Laziness. If they can do it, then so can I! I’ve ran twice this week, one up from last. Extended feature on the Run Dem Crew coming soon!

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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