Six years ago there was a limited edition pair of sb’s that cause a riot and masses of eager teenagers to go crazy for a sneaker that there were only seventy pairs of. Back then the only way you knew about these releases were through close relationships with mom and pop sneaker shops. There was nothing comparable to having a pair of sneakers you knew only seventy one other people would have.
It made you feel like you were part of a secret society, or even a community of different people with one common thing a very dope pair of kicks. I remember a time when you only knew the location of certain sneakers shops was through word of mouth. A time when you had to camp out in the city for days with hundreds of other sneaker enthusiasts because you wanted that feeling of being the coolest guy in school. Back then sneakers were a symbol that showed people you weren’t part of the masses but a sneaker addict!
Times have change people no longer have relationships with mom and pop sneaker shops, people are now buying sneakers solely to resell them, and sadly enough the youth are purchasing sneakers not knowing the background or even the athlete who wore the them. Today foot Action release sought after sneakers in the thousands, just the other week I seen the Uptempo 97 on sale for hundred dollars! Sneakers that revolutionize the 360 Air bubble and once sold online for $400 dollars, is now in the discount section. Midnight sneaker releases are a joke because the next morning you’ll see the same sneakers in Jimmy Jazz, Dr. Jays, or V.I.M for the same price. Today Sneaker materials are flimsy and cheap, the material and construction are not as good as they once were, while technology is improving it just seems craftsmanship no longer exist. Nike is increasing the retail price for sneakers while cutting back on quality material, which helps them increase their revenue but leaves us ,the consumer, with shitty-constructed sneakers.
At this point it doesn’t seem like the days of the limited edition sneaker will ever return, sneaker corporations throw this term around so often its getting more and more difficult to sort throw these so call limited edition releases. Two or three years ago a Futura did a collaboration with Nike that feature him designing a pair of Air force highs and low’s, the release was on a large scale and could be found throughout the city. To my surprise and a lot of other people astonishment the sneaker was a dude! People weren’t receptive at all; to be quite honest the sneaker was very ordinary and lacked any creative identity. What was so disappointing was the fact the Futura is an amazing artist and design one of the dopest pair of Nike Skateboarding sneakers ever, its just seemed like for this process he was obligated to a general design for the everyday consumer. This is just one of the many cases of an iconic figure failing horribly when it comes to designing a pair of kicks. The last pair true limited edition sneakers was the Air Yeezy it was the most sought after sneaker in the past ten years but even this amazing sneaker had a flaw, the packaging was terrible it was simply put in a regular Nike box.
All great things most come to end I guess, what’s really disheartening is today’s youth will never truly experience the feeling of having a limited edition pair of sneakers to call their own.
