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As the year 2016 comes to a close we’re reaching out to members of the community that we respect to get their take on the year in sneakers. Next up is DJ Clark Kent.
(As told to Julian Jimenez)
I’m not really sure if they’re in order. They’re shoes that I think probably were most important to me. I don’t know if I can call it "Top 10" the way people call it “The Best.” I would say "Most Important." Take into accord that I’m an older guy, so things have different meaning. You know what I mean.
To me when you look at sneakers that were released for a certain year you should be looking at new silhouettes. When you get into conversation and you bring up a shoe that’s been retroed a 100 different times, just because of the colorway, you shouldn’t have that conversation without remembering that the Jordan 31 came out. It was probably the best basketball shoe that came out this year.
10. Acronym x Nike Air Presto Mid
That extra little detail that they put into the idea of making it a mid and then a zipper, the leather touch on it, and then the color is another way they freaked an old shoe and made it new. It was important. You know what I mean? It was another shoe.
9. Air Jordan 1 OG High “Storm Blue”
They’re simply beautiful. [laughs] And they never were a retro before. It’s a fact that when they first came out, the first time, I thought they were crazy and blue, the color I was wearing the most at that time. That blue was closer to a old-school Knick blue, like a royal blue. I’m a Knicks fan and Giants fan so those colors worked good when they came out. I don’t care what people think about it. I’m not into the hype.
8. Air Jordan 1 OG High “Top 3”
I thought it was a pretty slick idea. It probably should’ve been called a “Top 4” but it’s a Top 3. If you take a good look at it, it’s a Royal, Bred, Black Toe, and it’s a Fragment. I would’ve called it "Top 4," but who cares about the name it’s just a slick and cool thing to do. It’s a simpler way of doing a “What The” shoe. It’s just for your Top 3 Jordans. People are going to answer those easily. Next year I promise you, Royal 1s are going to be Top 10. [Laughs]
7. Sneaker Freaker x New Balance 997.5 “Tassie Tiger”
Those are insane. They are a beautiful shoe. Beautiful colorway, execution, and material. That’s the one shoe that I’m mad that I don’t have. They don’t make a size 13. If you know Sneaker Freaker, things of Australian origin are important to them. They’re just really dope. They put it together properly.
6. Air Force 1 Low “Linen”
There was no way I was not going to get them. It’s one of the most perfect colorways that ever happened. When they brought them back they did something that usually never happens—the leather was better. The leather is better than the original. Like, that never happens. That’s almost like a unicorn.
5. Air Jordan 1 High OG “Banned”
They redid ‘em. They came back. They tried to get ‘em as close to the Banned 1s, but they’re perfect. I even like that the red is a little darker. The leather on ‘em [takes a deep breathe] is crazy. It fit well. They’re a classic. You can’t mess up a Bred Jordan. I call them black and red Jordans. They’re supposed to be reminiscent of the colorway that was banned by the NBA. If you get a pair of the original black and red Jordan 1s, the leather on the new ones are better than the old ones. Look at that red leather—that red leather outstanding.
4. Air Jordan 1 High OG “Metallic Navy”
It’s clear that I like Jordan 1s, but what’s more clear is that they’re picking the right ones to bring back. There’s a lot of Jordan 1s that I’ve had and be quick like, “You can have them.” I didn’t go crazy for Black Toes. They made enough of those. The blue and white, they’re Yankee colors. When you can wear something easily with something that means something to you then of course it’s going to mean something different to you. You see, where I’m speaking from is a place of being fresh. I’m not speaking from a place of hype. Those shoes are sitting on shelves which make me happy. [Laughs] You don’t get ‘em, I’ll get ‘em. I’ll be fresh when I wear them and you’ll be like, “Damn I can’t believe I didn’t get those.” Kids aren’t really doing it for their proper allegiance. If they were they wouldn’t be buying shoes from hype, they’d be buying shoes ‘cause they like them. They usually don’t like what they’re buying.
3. PUMA Clyde “NYC Knicks”
This might seem strange, but this is because I’m a purist sports junkie. They were like $200 or whatever, but they were made exactly like 1-to-1 version of the original Puma Clyde. There were orange suede and royal blue. Clyde Frazier is one of the best players. My love for the shoe is purely nostalgic of when we were young. Back in the days I had them. They were made practically identical to the way they were made back then.
1. (Tie) Air Jordan 31
When we were talking at ComplexCon, everybody kind of laughed when I pulled out a 31 and showed everybody that this one of the best shoes this year. It happened to be the “Cyber Monday” version. That was one of my picks for the best shoe this year. Then everyone in the audience was like, “Whatever.” I’m always looking for a good new sneaker. Are you telling me the sneaker game is that bad that we can’t appreciate new shoes?
1. (Tie) Special Field Air Force 1 “Triple White”
I think my boy Ben [Kirschner], who actually did the shoe, killed it. I love Air Force 1s, but I can’t appreciate too many extra things happening to it. But what he did to it, he just killed it! Material wise, design aesthetic, thought process—everything he put into the shoe is really dope.