For the Air Force 1 25th Anniversary, Nike threw a party like no other and that meant the best space possible. Gotham Hall was the place to be last night as Nike celebrate 25 years of the Air Force 1. Gotham Hall was filled with 400 (1000?) of the top players of the culture and one of the largest collection of Air Force 1s ever – 1040 pairs. There are hundreds more made but we’ll leave that for another space. Sartoria Lab, the same people who designed the Nike Speed and White Dunk experience spaces, designed the AF1 experience space to fit into the beautiful Gotham Hall.

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Bruce Kilgore – Sandy Bodecker

A few hours before the official Air Force 1 25th Anniversary Celebration Party, a few members of the NYC press spent an hour chatting with Bruce Kilgore and Sandy Bodecker at the TriBeca AF1 space. If you didn’t know Bruce Kilgore is the quiet and very humble designer of the Air Force 1. For the first time Bruce gave the press a little more info about himself, from his education to some of his earlier jobs. Bruce also gave us a little insight on his design process on the original Air Force 1…

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Bobby Jones, T-Bone (Thibaut de Longeville), Patrick Ewing

A little over a month back Nike sent out invitations to some of the world’s top media influencers to help celebrate the upcoming Air Force 1 25th Anniversary Celebration. They include the top players of the media world; Honeyee, Sneaker Freaker, Urban Look, etc… We spent several hours at the ‘AF1 Headquarters’ in Tribeca with some of the major players that helped make AF1 what it is today. From athletes to cultural leaders; Bobby Jones, Patrick Ewing, Nate Robinson, DJ Clark Kent, T-Bone (Just for Kicks director) and a few others spoke about the culture of Air Force 1. Towards the end of the night, a select few of us remained at the space and were given a product presentation.

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Photos by Dan H.
Written and Produced by Poe

When American Commodore Matthew Perry and his fleet of “Black Ships” or Kurofune (??) arrived near Tokyo in the summer of 1853. The commotion reverberated throughout Japan and brought about changes in relationship between the West and this island nation – one outcome was the establishment of Port of Yokohama (???). Since then, the city will be forever linked to as an place of interchange between cultures. Today, Yokohama’s contribution is no different than its role 150 years ago. So, it isn’t surprising a major facilitator of those ideals, a shop by the name of essense, is in this oceanside city.

essense
2-16-11 Minamisaiwai, Niko Building 3F | Map (Japanese Only)
Nishi-ku, Yokohama
Kanagawa, Japan
TEL #: +81-45-317-6912
www.rakuten.co.jp/essense

> Freshness Gallery: essense

More feature after the jump

Produced by Debre
Written by DKaz

A relative new comer, opening its shop in 2002, LUMP has already smoothed to the top of Tokyo’s street scene. Tokyo designers Hiroaki Shitano/whiz and Atsushi Horiki/Rebirth have developed two brands now commonly referred to as “LUMP Style.”

> Freshness Gallery: Lump – whiz & Rebirth (Photos are last season items)

Read more after the jump

Interview by Rob Heppler
Produced by Liquidrice

Politics
106 Arnould Blvd.
Lafayette, LA 70563
sneakerpolitics.com

Luxurious sneaker boutiques flourish in our major cities, and our favorite internet sites keep us updated on their progress and inventory. It is very refreshing to see a new area in a often overlooked part of the country to increase our hunting grounds. Introducing Politics! Based in Lafayette, Louisiana the dream of sole owner and employee Derek Curry has officially opened its doors on Nov. 1st 2006.

Interview by: Masa
Photos: Sekure

Sekure D is one of Australia’s leading sneaker customizers with distinctive and detailed style. Based in Melbourne, he is an up and coming customizer making marks in Australia and around the world. I had the pleasure of catching up with him for a casual chat.

> Sekure D

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Interview with DOUG PRAY the director of INFAMY
Interview by Tom Bradley
Produced by Liquidrice

Doug Pray’s last documentary was 2001′s Scratch, a behind-the-scenes look into the world of hip-hop DJs and ‘turntablism. This most recent documentary is an intense journey into the lives, minds and families of seven individuals who are obsessed with graffiti and follow that obsession into the most unexpected places. The film covers LA’s SABER, New York’s EARSNOT and CLAW, Phily’s ENEM, LA’s TOOMER and SF’s JASE. There’s also Joe Connolly the man who makes the removal of Los Angeles graffiti his daily passion. Tom Bradley recently sat down for a Q&A with Doug Pray and CLAW on this exciting new documentary.

Written & Photos by Poe
Produced by Poe

To mark the 10th anniversary of GQ Magazine – Taiwan Edition, it and its sister publication Vogue Taiwan, hosted a memorable party last Friday, October 15th. The red carpeted gala took place at the roof top garden of Eslite Hsin Yi Flagship store in the heart of Taipei City, capital of Taiwan. Countless celebrities, including models that graced the covers of both magazine, past and present, were escorted down the brilliant red carpet. However, the climax of the evening must be the 1000+ people toast to the success of both publications, followed by a 5-minutes fireworks.

> GQ Taiwan x Microsoft x Freshness – FUSED

> Freshness Feature: FUSED – Part 1

> Freshness Gallery: FUSED – Part 2

More after the jump

Written & Photos by Poe
Produced by Poe

In 1996, Conde Nast, the parent company of GQ, launched the first issue of GQ Taiwan, simply as a source of information on men’s fashion, on both international and domestic front. Since then, the magazine became a must have for fashionable consumers, as a guide not only to latest styles, but on gadgetry, automobiles, entertainment, and urban lifestyle.

> GQ Taiwan x Microsoft x Freshness – FUSED

> Freshness Gallery: FUSED – Part 1

More after the jump

“One Time Only” was the proposal when Nike design duo Richard Clarke and Jesse Leyva presented their new project to Nike’s CEO Mark Parker. In fact, the newest project involving Nike Air cushioning technology is pretty unique. It is a convergence of the most recent development in Nike Air cushioning- the Air Max 360 shoe and the iconic predecessor Air Max models that have continuously expanded the possibilities of Nike Air Cushioning.

All Packs are due in stores September 30th, 2006.

See below details on each pack and all the locations Nike’s “One Time Only” is available.

This is the only time you will see these models in their original color and materials featuring the Air Max 360 Air Sole unit.

The Air Max, the Air Max 95 and the Air Max 97 each dominated with their specific design and colorway. The leading color of the upper is used as the dominant color for the Air Max 360 sole. The Air Max 90 will come in red, Air Max 95 will come in green-yellow and the legendary Air Max 97 will come in grey-silver. ACG (All Condition Gear) was the inspiration for the color treatment of the Air Max 360. The earth tones and suede offer uniqueness from the previous colorways of the original used on the Air Max 360.

Peep the detailed photos below…