Take out all the vowels from except from the leading ‘U’, open up a shop in the town’s upscale shopping district and offer some of the world’s most exclusive streetwear labels along with a selection of sneakers most stores would envy.  Sounds like a recipe for opening another UNDFTD chapter store, and indeed LeBron James and company did take some of the best aspects of LA/LV’s biggest street fashion stars when they opened a new retail location in Miami’s Aventura Mall.  UNKNWN opened its doors this weekend with a private event held just on the other side of the store’s Freegums-designed glass entry, a room that contains one of the coolest display walls anywhere in the world.  Each shoe has an UNKNWN-branded iPad hanging on the wall to its right, where a video of the shoe being tried on among other highlights loop on the screen so you can get some extra perspective on your potential purchases.  Click through to see more of what’s inside the store and let us know which is your favorite place to buy new kicks.  via ITSB

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Sneaker News kicked off Monday morning by giving you the first look at Gino Iannucci’s new Nike SB pro model, and now we get a look at something else new that also has a strong connection to Swoosh skateboarding’s longtime core.  This new Nike SB Dunk High comes in a darker camouflage than we’ve ever seen on its quarter-century-aged silhouette, but that doesn’t put a damper on the conversation they share with legendary drops like the Reese Forbes ‘Hunter’ or Brian Anderson’s 2006 San Francisco Giants-inspired design.  A rugged canvas camo atop black suede means these will be just as good for serious skating as street-level concealment, and you can see more of this summer 2012 release after the jump.  via N-SB

Tweet

Continue Reading   

NCAA student-athletes have continued to show off some of the best kicks on a basketball court as the season progresses, and this week’s crop, while a bit smaller than the previous weeks, still holds true to the fact that NCAA players have the most heat! To kick it off in a way that’ll have you a bit jealous, the Texas Longhorns sported the Nike Zoom KD IV ‘Nerf’ which released on Saturday morning in uber-limited quantities. Earlier last week, Marcus Jordan (MJ’s son) had his best game as a collegiate player while wearing the upcoming Air Jordan X ‘Chicago’. Those two sightings alone would make for quite the sexy gathering of sneakers, so check some of the footwear highlights from the NCAA games over the last week and let us know who you think rocked the best kicks! via ESPN/NT.

Tweet

Continue Reading   

The modern sneaker scene offers more retro releases than any other point in history, but there are times when the choices of what’s available seem a bit confusing.  For example, the Air Jordan XII ‘Taxi’ is a beloved design, and it’s one that translates well to a lowtop variant, but some sneakerheads wondered why we got another ‘Taxi’ Low this spring when they’d already dropped back in 2003, while some of the OG Twelves still sit on the shelves.  But that’ll change next year as we get three of the five originals including the ‘Bulls’ and ‘Obsidians’, along with this pair that was retroed in early ’04 and recently graced the cover of NBA2K10, the Air Jordan XII Retro ‘Playoffs’.  This is the shoe in which Michael Jordan closed out the 1997 NBA Finals in Chicago after a heroic performance in Utah wearing the ‘other’ postseason XII that’ll forever be known as the ‘Flu Game’.  These arguably have a better lifestyle appeal thanks to white instead of red mudguards paired with their black full grain leather uppers, but with the Obsidian pair also coming soon with the same blocking pattern, will you even be able to choose between them?!  Click through to see more of the ‘Playoff’ AJ12s and stick with Sneaker News for all the 2012 Air Jordan Retro release dates.  via Marquee Sole

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Upon our latest look at the Zoom Kobe VII ‘Cheetah’, we noted that this year is set to feature some of the craziest Christmas colorways ever seen, and here’s another New York Knicks PE that’s pushing the boundaries of what we expect from the NBA’s seasons greetings.  Just as easily a St. Patty’s shoutout as a Christmas Day player exclusive colorway, this new Nike Air Max Sweep Thru unites Amar’e Stoudemirewith teammate Carmelo Anthony in their use of the Green Week/Kryptonate alternate coloring.  The Air Max Sweep Thru loses it’s strap graphics on this pair and instead goes for a two-toned look that has the ‘AIR MAX’ script looking super crisp, and the shoe as a whole perhaps the most elegant in the model’s short history, despite the Oompa Loompa look.  Click through to see more, let us know which is the best of the 2011 NBA Christmas Day sneakers so far, and look to pick these up along with a bunch of half-priced Hershey’s kisses on December 26th at Nike Basketball retailers like Sneaker Bistro.

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Nike SB veteran Gino Iannucci’s Dunk Low Pro designs are fondly remembered relics from the orange box era and his ‘Band Aid’ was sufficiently popular as to spawn another very similar design years later.  So why after a decade of sliding and grinding for the Swoosh hasn’t Gino gotten a signature shoe of his own?  Riders like Omar Salazar, Eric Koston and Paul Rodriguez have all reaped the benefits of a LunarLon-cushioned signature over the last year, and soon Gino will join the bunch, but in his typically understated style.  The Nike SB Challenge Court doesn’t bear Gino’s name and is more of an unofficial ‘pro model’ than a true signature, but his design touches are all over this Court Force-meets-Harbour Mid built in suede and mesh with a sole that looks like it could have been copied from the Air Jordan 1, OG Dunk traction pattern and all.  SB brought back the Bruin, then Nike 6.0 answered wth the LeShot and now we have the Challenge Court SB; which of Nike’s classic basketball or court shoes might be the next to parlay into a skate shoe?  Gino’s is the next up, and you can see more of what to expect from the Challenge Court in 2012 by clicking on the jump below.  via N-SB

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Can Kobe Bryant recapture his championship form of two years ago without the help of reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom?  It remains to be seen if the Black Mamba can match Michael Jordan’s six rings, but one thing we know for certain going into the shortened NBA regular season is that Kobe has the craziest tipoff kicks in the whole league.  The Nike Zoom Kobe VII ‘Cheetah’ takes the neon green ‘Grinch’ theme from last year and ups the ante with plenty of Lakers purple and the most eye-catching palette even in a year when St. Patrick’s-looking kicks are dotting the Christmas Day landscape.  Add in the cheetah spots across the Flywire-equipped upper and seal up either of the Zoom Kobe VII Supreme System’s interchangeable booties with red laces and these come out as the showstopper of Nike Basketall’s Xmas 2011 trio.  Have a closer look at the first ‘Predator Pack’ Zoom Kobe 7 release and stick with Sneaker News for details on the Christmas Day drop.  via SoleBoutique

Tweet

Continue Reading   

We live in an era when colorway-swapping customs are as popular as remixed hit singles, and the latest little ditty is one of the more impressive we’ve seen applied to the Nike LeBron 9.  Patterned after the‘Nerf’ Zoom KD IV that hit limited retail locations last week, this Mache Custom Kicks effort does a great job of appropriating the splatter print on the KD IV’s strap, applying it to the whole ankle area.  The rest of the shoe is spot-on when it comes to blocking, except that the Max Air cushion might have been neon green in a perfect world.  We’ve yet to see a ‘Dunkman’ LeBron 9 that might easily accommodate that kind of thing, but already we know to expect to see that signature palette replicated on another hot release coming up soon; perhaps a Zoom KD IV?  Click through to see this ‘Nerf’ LeBron 9 custom close-up, and let us know where they rank against the other color copies we’ve seen of late.

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Wanna be like Mike? Or at least attempt to be? Sign up for Flight School, a youth basketball camp headed by Michael Jordan himself. One year in particular, the first fifty that signed up for the camp received a special pair of PE kicks – the Air Jordan 60+ in red patent leather and white. It’s been a while since the Air Jordan Sixty Plus was a headline on Sneaker News, but it was deemed one of the best releases for 2009 for its cohesive design that combined Jordan’s kicks during his 60+ point performance occasions. If you want to build up your Jordan collection like Mark Bostic or Jordan Geller, you might wanna check out this auction from 2legit2quit78 on eBay.

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Given the steady stream of previews for 2012, it’s pretty clear that the Air Jordan X will be back in a big way come next year. It seems that the resurrection of Mike’s tenth signature shoe will be precluded by a bit more hybrid action for the same silhouette, manifested here in the Jordan CMFT Max Air 10. The colorway sticks with the classic Jordan Brand palette, falling somewhere between the predominantly black ‘Stealth’ Air Jordan X and the all-Bulls ‘Chicago’ colorway. Some of you may still be a bit uneasy at the sight of an Air Jordan model on top of an Air Max sole, but stick with us after the jump for the full view before you pass judgement on these. If you like what you see, grab a pair from the team at Oneness.

Jordan CMFT Max Air 10
Black/White-Varsity Red
442087-010

Tweet

Continue Reading   

Just over a week ago, Nike Sportswear released a new Dunk High whose black suede/white leather combo with a grey Swoosh is the kind of thing that attracts nicknames like ‘Oakland Raiders’.  It’s not as if they’re the only team in pro sports with a simple color scheme (the San Antonio Spurs come to mind), but the frequency that shoes get the ‘Raiders’ label reflects the kind of ownership Oakland football fans have invested in their team.  Two of the three new pairs of Nike Dunk Highs pictured above meet the general criteria to get lumped in with the ‘Black Hole’ look (with another to come a bit later — stay tuned), while a royal-on-white pair completes this BTTYS-blocked trio.  Check them out in greater detail after the jump and get yours from an NSW retailer like Size?.

Tweet

Continue Reading   

The Nike Odyssey originally debuted in 1984, but don’t expect much of that OG design to pop back up in the 2011 Nike Air Max Odyssey. It’s a completely new design, with the flowing lines similar to the Nike Liquid Racer that debuted rather quietly last year. Visible Air Max provides the cushioning on the heel, with a Free-grooved outsole at the forefoot providing ample flexion when needed. This new White/Navy/Mango colorway just because available on Nikestore so check out the quick images below and pick up a pair while they’re available.

Nike Air Max Odyssey
White/White-Midnight-Navy-Bright Mango
488277-146
$100

Tweet

Continue Reading