It’s been a while since we heard anything from raincoat company K-Way but this form of reentry is welcome, as they team up with New Balance for a trio of silhouettes. Grabbing one of NB’s more slimmed down sneakers, the K-Way x New Balance U420 is a trio of straightforward suede and nylon runners that match well with the pastel aesthetic of K-Way’s jackets. In form with New Balance’s collaborative guidelines the branding is pretty minimal, with K-Way’s logo hit popping up on the tongue tag as a nod to the partnership. Follow us after the jump to get a look at all three pairs that are on their way for Spring/Summer 2012. via Sneaker Freaker

The Hundreds has been huge for a while now, with one of the key aspects of their ever expanding empire being their range of footwear. While typically built on skate aesthetics along with model names paying homage to various sports influences, the Spring 2012 widens the scope of inspiration a bit to focus on sturdier looks with an outdoorsy feel. The setting of the look book shown here makes that clear, along with the almost Nike-ACG like palette taken on by models like the Riley High. Follow us after the jump to get the high res shots from The Hundreds Spring 2012 Footwear look book, and stick with Freshness for info on where to cop as soon as these pop up at retail. Photos: Scott Turner

Thanks to CONVERSE’s Chuck Taylor Premium City Pack and a nice flatbill, residents of Boston, Los Angeles, and New York can now rep their cities from head to toe. Made of premium tumbled leather uppers with the iconic sewn-on ankle patch, each version of this hi-top trio uses a unique accent color for the laces, liner, sole, and stripe on the midsole inspired by the cities themselves. Green was chosen for Boston, purple for L.A., and blue for the Big Apple. The “City” pack from Converse is available now exclusively on their online store.

Initially debuted in 1989, the Reebok Pump Fury has enjoyed a fruitful career as a revolutionary athletic sneaker, as well as a sought-after pair of kicks by sneaker aficionados. In 2011, this popular model was tweaked with Reebok‘s latest technology, being released as the all-new Pump Fury Super Lite. Reebok has now made significant improvements for the upcoming 2012 model, dubbed the Pump Fury HLS. The notable feature of these sneakers is the 3D Ultralite Sole that is equipped to provide stability, cushioning and durability. The design of the uppers has changed slightly, including the revised mesh panels and honeycomb-shaped reflectors on the toe panels. These sneakers will be launching Friday, February 17th at select Reebok accounts and can be pre-ordered from mita sneakers in Tokyo right now.

mita sneakers
4-7-8 Ueno | Map
1 F & 2 F Ameyoko Center Building
Ueno, Tokyo Japan

Aside from their own line of products and retail stores, Japanese fashion giant Beauty & Youth is known for instigating high-profile collaboration projects. Their latest partnership is with the Californian brand VANS, who have produced an exclusive pair of Leopard Slip Ons for the ladies. As animal prints have been making the rounds in recent seasons, here is the version from Beauty & Youth, utilizing a leopard-printed suede leather material. The smooth leather wraps around the whole sneaker, balanced by cream-colored soles and interior. Beige-colored VANS flag tag and dual brand logos on the footbed finish off the footwear nicely. Unfortunately, these have already sold out on the Beauty & Youth online shop, but they may still be available in their retail stores in Japan, so it might be best to reach out to your Japanese contacts.

For those of you who were considering it, we’re going to say it’s OK for you to ask your girlfriend or wife for a late Valentine’s present this year. Specifically, four days after Valentine’s Day. After all, it’s been roughly thirteen long years since the Air Jordan IV White/Cement were last released in stores. Looking at these official images from Jordan Brand, one can nitpick about trifling details  — the grey may be a little darker, the leather perhaps a little thinner, and the stars underneath the toe may be a little more conspicuous — or one can simply look forward to having a gorgeous new pair of Cement IVs in their lives.

Style: 308497-103
Color: White/Black-Cement Grey

Release Date: February 18th, 2012 (Saturday)

The guys at Nike Harajuku in Tokyo have graced us with shots of this new colorway of the Nike Kobe VII in an interesting iridescent colorway. Be sure to click through and view the gallery containing images of the shoe finished in a sparkling purple hue, as well as the blueish-green above. Yep, they’re the same shoe. The Flywire-infused upper reflects back differing colors depending on the angle and lighting, making this most innovative of basketball sneakers even more so. It’s proving to be a big year for Kobe — in terms of his signature sneaker, not so much for his Lakers — but this is one release that might be contained to just the Asian market. Stay tuned for word on a stateside drop.

Reebok’s trip around the world to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Workout design continues with a Starcow x Reebok collaboration. In this edition, we get some Parisian influence to the classic Reebok silhouette, which results in a waterproof soft grey suede upper, orange lining, and a sand-colored gum outsole. A pair of Thinsulate inserts were added to boost its comfort score along with a touch of red and black on the top laces, giving this skate-inspired sneaker a a few more hits of color. These Starcow-designed Workout’s will be available at Reebok retailer along with the other global designs on February 15th. via: HS

The original ‘Be True to Your School’ colorblocking on the Nike Dunk High is one that still stands as the go-to look for the sneaker so many years later. The simple two-tone pairing of a bold color on a white background just can’t be messed up, as we’ve seen on countless iterations since their original release. Playing with convention a bit, Nike just released the ‘March Madness’ pack of Dunk High’s, which sticks to the collegiate theme but switches in a black background for the iconic look. And while March isn’t here quite yet, you can indeed cop them now from Nikestore or at brick and mortar spots like Proper. Follow us after the jump for the full photos of each pair from the Nike Dunk High ‘March Madness’ pack.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the adidas brand’s famous Munich silhouette, adidas Originals built a unique “LEPLOOP” campaign, which mixes its famous sneaker with the music of sound engineer LuckyBeard. First introduced in 1972, the classic München took off as sneakerhead enjoyed both its design and premium construction, highlighted today with suede uppers and perforated leather on the toe. The Spring 2012 anniversary release arrives in five classic colorways, each inspired by the Olympic rings, and is joined by a custom version of the analog groove-box, the Leploop, given to LuckyBread to create a track to mark the occasion. Check out the results of this anniversary campaign after the jump and pick up the shoes when they drop later this month.

The fireworks have been long gone. So are the lion dancers and other Chinese New Year festivities. But there is still an opportunity for you to partake in the celebration once again with Freshness’ current giveaway – a pristine pair of Nike Air Force 1 – Year of the Dragon in US Size 11. To enter for a chance to win, simply follow the 3 easy steps after the click. A friendly reminder though, the contest will end tonight when the clock strikes 11:59 pm EST.

Contest End Date: February 3rd, 2012 (Tonight!) | 11:59 pm EST

New from Vans California are two styles of the brand’s deconstructed Eras. First up is the Dress Blues/Brown Leather colorway, featuring white round laces and a build that showcases a brown leather quarter panel sandwiched between navy suede at the vamp and heel counter. Meanwhile, the Dark Shadow/Black Coffee style has a material story that sees charcoal suede at the vamp and heel, finished with a textured black leather quarter and matching round laces. Both show contrast white stitching throughout the upper plus a white midsole absent the customary foxing stripe. Leather lining and a leather Vans tag round out the details. Both colorways of the Vans Era Decon CA are available now at the Vans DQM General.

The VANS DQM General – New York
93 Grand Street | Map
New York, NY 10013
TEL #: 212-226-7776