Most of us thought FUTURA’s Nike Air Force 1 capsule was finished, and that his Syracuse Orangemen gear marked the end of this legendary artist’s work with Nike for the year.  Maybe that *was* the plan, but with ‘Cuse the #1 team in college basketball, perhaps this ‘other’ NY-based champion was looking for a little edge.

Here’s our first look at the FUTURA x Nike Air Force 1 High + Low New York Yankees Pack. Of course, the Yankees are coming off their unprecedented 27th World Series victory, so this team effort can only help.  FUTURA’s latest AF1s are quite similar, both featuring dark navy uppers that have finer perforations than his Be True Pack.

The rest of the stuff is identical, except their translucent outsoles: the hightops have a blue bottom whereas the lows go the smokey route. Air Force 1 Highs and Lows tend to have different fans, so this pack has everybody covered.  Just in time for the start of spring training, these are available for pre-order from endclothing.

Not only have his shoes transcended the game for which they were designed, but Michael Jordan himself is also known for being a very stylish guy. With that in mind, the latest effort from the Jordan Brand 25th Anniversary Collection is a salute to fine living.

This pair of Air Jordan II Retros is done in a rich brown leather with faux-croc skin on the AJ II’s signature wing panels.  Throw in waxed laces, and you already have one of the dressier Jordan Retros we’ve ever seen, but it’s the little details that makes this one special.

Like the ‘Bin 23′ wax stamp that sneakerheads have speculated refers to MJ’s love for fine cigars, and the oak shoehorns that accompany each pair.  These also come with a special canvas bag, so they’re sure to be a hot collector’s item, and are available for pre-order from SneakersNStuff.

When this shoe was first leaked, there was some confusion around its origin.  At first, rumors were swirling about that Patta had designed them for as part of their 5th Anniversary Nike Air Max 1 collection, but then they were revealed to be from the palette of Dutch artist Parra.  And it turns out, they were working together the entire time!

With a huge range of retro releases on tap in 2010 to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of Air Jordan sneakers, what better way to celebrate than with an updated version of the shoe that started it all?  The Air Jordan Alpha 1 combines classic aesthetics with modern basketball sneaker technology to become one of the year’s standout on-court kicks.

The Nike SB Dunk High is an iconic silhouette that 9 out of 10 people who know anything about sneakers could spot in a second.  This spring’s colourways have gone back to basics, with this pair bearing a resemblance to one of the classics from the Dunk SB series.

Austin, TX is already the coolest city in that state and now you have even more of a reason to head over and visit Bevo.  The Nice Kicks flagship store has opened in ATX just one block down from the University of Texas campus.

“The store is a physical extension of our digital brand,” said founder Matt Halfhill. “Over the past four years we have built a loyal and dedicated readership, but we wanted to create an environment that people could physically visit and experience sneakers in a new way.”

Halfhill and Co. got up with Kris Swift to create a design from imported fixtures and furniture, seeking to convey the kind of fanaticism that typifies NK readers.  A good crowd of them were on hand Saturday, when the paper window coverings came down and Texas rap legend Bun B made an appearance for the 700+ on hand.

Produced by: Dan Hwang
Written by: Paul Kim

Nike. Sneakers. Athletes. Scott Denton-Cardew?

Nike has established itself a long time ago as a powerhouse in our culture speaking to virtually everyone – athletes, artists, sneakerheads, etc.  As if staying relevant for over three decades was not hard enough, Nike has been a pioneer for just as long.  In order to continue their success, they need to stay ahead of the game.  One of the most trusted to execute such an extraordinary task is Scott Denton-Cardew.  Basically, he’s a sure-thing. Originally from London, now based in LA, Scott has come a long way from his days at the now-defunct seminal music magazine Ray Gun.  Nowadays he provides identities to super-companies such as Nike and Sony. Denton-Cardew has collaborated with Nike’s global brand design division since 2004 before starting his own company, D-CD – Denton-Cardew Design.  However, his work is not exclusive to Nike.  He has created motion graphics for MTV, TNT, HBO and Toyota, as well as a film for Bombay Sapphire for Heathrow’s new Terminal 5.  Today D-CD is a multi-disciplinary design company working with clients from Sony to Converse, to USC and Cole Haan.

In the short few years since they were released, a sizeable quantity of the Nike Air Force 1 Mid AF-X by collabo-legend Stash have been held in the artist’s even larger DS stockpile.  He’s notoriously generous with these insanely limited kicks, and that’s manifesting in one of the first remixed collaborations in the sneaker word.

Now, it’s not like plenty of Swoosh teammates haven’t gone back and revisited theirs or others’ designs, but this is the first time a shoe is that was physically produced years ago, is being altered and re-released.  With these AF-X AF1s, Stash had a Recon/CONCEPTS dual logo laser-etched onto the outer toe box area.  If that weren’t hot enough, there’s a redux of the matching cell phone case on the way for all of you who wanted the first package.  The only catch is, this is only going down at Boston’s Concepts on Saturday, February 13th, so get your layers in order.  It’s worth standing in line possibly overnight to meet Stash himself and get a shot at one of the hottest Nike Air Force 1 Mids ever released.  Available for sale this coming Saturday, February 13th, at Concepts of Boston.

Concepts
37 Brattle Street | Map
Cambridge MA 02138

Release Date: February 13th (Saturday)

The Super Bowl is consistently the most popular tv event each year, and MTV’s Jersey Shore was a smash hit in its winter run.  Put ‘em together and you get the most explosive marketing combination imaginable for the possibly-revolutionary Reebok ZigTech.

The fact that Nike Air Force 1 collector extraordinairre Mayor is one of the few we can name off top who have them, suffice to say, clear sneaker boxes are rare.  Hypebeast editor Eugene Kan and friends want to change that, and are introducing the new HUPBOX v1 Clear Shoebox.

FUNK FOR FREE went down successfully two weeks ago in Orlando.  Don’t miss PART 2!  Sunglass and accessory maker Arnette and skateboard apparel designer Osiris are teaming up to kick off ASR with FUNK FOR FREE. The event will take place at the 923 Dive Lounge in San Diego’s Gaslamp District featuring live performances by Del The Funky Homosapien, Bukue One and DJ Kreese.

The time for chopping wood this winter is pretty much over, but here’s a rugged new Nike Air Force 1 High Supreme Quickstrike that could hold its own in any conditions.  Resembling the steel-toed workwear boots that represent America’s working class, this AF1 hightop is crafted in a luxurious reddish brown leather.