29-Jan-2010
Posted by : John Brilliant
The Nike Air Flight Max II released a decade ago and featured a “Dynamic-Fit” spandex sleeve upper, thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) external support cage, and a rubber outsole design shared with the Nike Jet Flight of the same era. While you can no longer purchase the shoes at retail and no retro models of the silhouette are on the horizon, we take a look back today at a special make-up pair of the Air Flight Max II for Penny Hardaway. This White/Purple style comes matched for Phoenix Suns “Home” games when Hardaway was a member of the team in the early 2000’s and features the Penny 1-cent logo embroidered on the tongues. Continue reading for more detailed images of the Nike Air Flight Max II – Penny Hardaway player exclusive.
26-Jan-2010
Posted by : John Brilliant
The Air Jordan II Retro returns this year in one of its original base colorways. While not a spot-on replica of the 1987 model with its altered “JORDAN” badging on the outsole and red piping on the upper, the shoe retains the faux iguana skin paneling that helped make the original Italian-produced pairs famous. Currently scheduled for a May 2010 release, the shoes will retail for $135. A confirmed release date and production version photos will develop closer to launch. Continue reading to see more detailed images of this sample stage Air Jordan II Retro.
12-Jan-2010
Posted by : John Brilliant
With the sudden switch by Dwyane Wade last summer from Converse to Jordan Brand, it left many sneaker watchers wondering what the fate of the already-in-production Converse WADE 5 signature shoe would be. Today, we get one possibility: A replaced chassis stacked underneath a stripped WADE 5 upper. As compared to the original WADE 5 samples, this new version carries the exact same material base with various alterations such as the removal of the TPU lace holder design element and de-badging such as the disconnection of the “Wade-as-Converse-Star” emblem as seen on the original model replaced simply by the official Converse Star logo on this pair. To complete the transformation, the existing Weapon Evo midsole/outsole tooling is used. Read our interview with Michael DiTullo, Converse Design Director, for the backstory on the Weapon Evo design. Continue reading for more detailed photos of this re-vamped and re-tooled Converse “WADE 5″ sample.
22-Dec-2009
Posted by : John Brilliant
Category : Nike
Tags: adidas, adidas KOBEONE, adidas KOBETWO, adidas The KOBE, Eggplant, Kobe Bryant, Lace Locked, Lower Merion High School, Nike, Nike Air Flightposite, Nike Air Flightposite 1, PE, Sample
On Monday, July 15th, 2002, Kobe Bryant and adidas officially parted ways. It was the end of a long six-year relationship, and years longer stretching back to his days wearing adidas at Lower Merion High School. Leading up to the split, Kobe reverted from wearing his current in-line signature shoe, the adidas KOBETWO, back to wearing the original KOBE model which carried him through his first two Lakers championships. Things felt instinctively “different” between Kobe and members of the adidas team and it became increasingly clear he wanted out. For Nike’s part, one of the initial packages of shoes sent to Kobe during this lead up was a special make-up sample of the Nike Flightposite 1 in Eggplant/Black with Kobe’s then-number “8″ stitched into the zipper cover and “KOBE” imprinted in yellow on the heel pull tab. This rare sample has made its way into the hands of Counter Kicks retail partner LaceLocked.com where you can grab Bryant’s size 12 right now. Continue reading for more detailed photos of the shoe.
14-Dec-2009
Posted by : John Brilliant
Here’s an Air Jordan XI Low sample colorway from sneaker collector Carter1203. The shoe features a white base slung with a pine green & yellow elephant print overlay, yellow interior, and translucent rubber outsole with varsity red herringbone traction pods. Marked as a Fall ‘07 release, this women’s style never made it to production lines. Continue reading for more detailed photos of this Air Jordan XI Low unreleased sample.
11-Dec-2009
Posted by : rajah
Foot Locker Unlocked has done a good job showing us what changes the Jordan Melo M6 underwent from its sample stage to its production release. While from a distance, the shoes look identical, there are some brief changes that were made so get on your “Where’s Waldo” and “Highlights” tip and get searching on the two images above. When you’re finished playing detective, continue reading to see if you were able to spot all the changes.
08-Dec-2009
Posted by : John Brilliant
A play off the model’s name, this And1 Wonder Mid was colored up with a certain famous sliced bread loaf in mind. Using Wonder Bread’s iconic packaging as a model base, the shoe features the same Red, Yellow, and Navy Blue color hits along the upper and outsole. Also seen is a stylized AND1 logo on the heel with a takeoff on the “Wonder” logo that was originally inspired in 1921 by the Vice President of the baking company at the International Balloon Race in Indiana. Continue reading for more detailed photos of this wear test sample version of the And1 Wonder Mid.
23-Nov-2009
Posted by : Counter Kicks
With Dwyane Wade officially off the Converse endorsement roster this past summer, the continuing parade of Converse Wade-branded shoes continues to surface. This particular Wade sample features the tooling (midsole/outsole) of the WADE 4 (which Wade never actually wore in an NBA game) sitting below a new upper design capped off with shiny black patent accents. Continue reading to see more photos of the unreleased Converse Wade 4.3.
