Over at Pitchfork, of all places, a couple of writers go back and forth about the recent spell of rappers designing their own sneaker. Two dudes who are probably conscious of sneakers, but not obsessed to the point we all are, weigh in on the kicks we endlessly talk about. It's a nice change of pace from the nerdery and speculation that happens on a daily basis.
On the Yeezi/Yeezy 3 (confirmed by sources to be the actually shoe, rumored to be releasing on Black Friday, November 28th):
... just the towering silhouette turns me off. The neutral color fits the minimal, A.P.C.-influenced look Kanye rocks regularly these days, but to answer your question, this photo certainly doesn’t inspire me to stand in line for a few hours to cop a pair.
On Pharrell's Stan Smiths:
If you thought Pharrell phoned it in for “Blurred Lines”, well … here are his Stan Smiths. The beauty of Adidas’ arguably most beloved model is its timeless simplicity. The “design” reflects the fact Pharrell understands and respects the shoe’s legacy, but it also comes off as an unnecessary collaboration as “Happy” remains lodged in consumers’ brains.
On Big Sean's Metro Attitude:
Let’s deduct a couple point off top for printing 47 characters -- no matter how, ahem, inspirational—on a shoe. ... The shoe is unapologetically loud like Sean’s rapping is unapologetically derivative so at least it’s a fit. These would look at home in a Zumiez.
On Drake's custom OVO Jordan 12s:
... I think this is a less of a “Drake” thing and more of a “common sense” thing, but murdering out 12’s is possibly the strongest concept of all time. Lots of gold OVO accents but they don’t go overboard. These are icy, Wesley, icy.
