Sneaker News Top 30 of 2012
December 28th, 2012 by Sneaker News | 182 comments
 |
10 | NIKE AIR FOAMPOSITE ONE “PARANORMAN”
Among the many impressive accomplishments and philanthropic endeavors of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, his participation in the arts is one that doesn’t get much publicity. Knight made his first move into the field by investing in Laika Studios in the late 1990s, but it wasn‘t until 2009 that Laika and Nike finally crossed paths. Laika reached a defining moment in its existence with the release of Coraline - the studio’s first ever feature film and an eventual Academy Award nominee. Nike commemorated the movie with a limited edition version of the Dunk High inspired by the story and its characters, making for one of the most daring and coveted Dunk designs of the late 00s. Since that early 2009 offering, the Laika x Nike connection wasn’t revisited again until 2012, when the two would come together for an incredible follow-up project that took an outside the box approach and reinvented conventional methods of obtaining sneakers in the process.
To kick things off, Nike released a set of teaser previews of a mysterious Nike Air Foamposite One, revealing some unusual and intriguing details that appeared to go the printed graphic upper route much like the insta-classic ‘Galaxy‘ Foams from earlier in the year. The hints also pointed toward another collaboration with Laika as the details coincided with the imagery from ParaNorman - Laika’s latest animated film about a strange young boy with the ability to communicate with the dead. The Air Foamposite One “ParaNorman” was fully unveiled just days later, introducing an incredible combo of detail and color like the special logos on the heel, the smoky green graphics on the upper, the special messages on the pull-tabs, and a creative sneaker box that featured a tight “Deadstock Seal” that required one to “Pull to Undeadstock.” Just 800 pairs of the ParaNorman Foams would be released, but obtaining a pair would require going to some unconventional measures – an entertaining combination of personal stories and social media interaction.
All 800 of the initial pairs were awarded to members of the Twitter community. No dollar amounts were needed – just a photo of yourself sent in to demonstrate that you were a “weird kid”. Using the #WeirdWins hash tag to monitor the entries, Laika and @ParaNorman gathered the submissions and handpicked each of the winners after the ten-day event. This unique release highlighted today’s most popular methods of web-based interaction, bringing in over 80,000 “weird” kids to take part in the first sneaker release of its kind. A second eBay-exclusive auction of eighty additional pairs became available on September 8th, with 70% of the proceeds going to the Born This Way Foundation – an organization founded by Lady Gaga with a mission to empower youth and embrace individuality.
The entire ‘ParaNorman’ phenomenon made its impression felt this year as it introduced new elements and thinking in packaging, design, and release format. The jaw-dropping colorway, the infamous “Undeadstock” seal, the Twitter-exclusive release – all of these factors played a role in redefining the special-edition sneaker release by embracing new methods of social media outreach (a camp-out or an in-store connect would do no one any good this time around). Those who hunted the ParaNormans after the release were forced to shell out incredible amounts, and it will likely go down as the priciest Foamposite to date on the re-sale market and one of the great collector’s items in sneaker history. An even rarer related treasure also emerged as the second ParaNorman-inspired Nike sneaker was later revealed to be a special Air Raid design, existing only in sample form and in the possession of Nike and the folks at Laika. Whether you got lucky or missed out, the ParaNorman Foamposite was certainly one of the year’s best stories, and without question a “weird” release that may just have changed the blueprint for how future special releases will be executed.
THIS SNEAKER IS DOPE!!!!! I WISH I COULD JUST GRAB FROM MY SCREEN RIGHT NOW. LOL!!!
fresh as fuck my niqha
蛋疼吧你
艹 真好看
It goes Rookie Galexy/ Yeezy/Galexy foaM
I like zhe AJ4
can you speak chinese？
@AJ123 不
avapkicks speaks blasphemy. Questions, Answers, any of the Pump series. I know this is only your opinion but damn.
no rookie galaxy
Playoffs 11's or the black cement 4's should of been number one!
i luv lebrons
reebok has never made a good shoe period
You crazy, you not a real sneaker head if you think reebok dont make good shoes@avapkicks
This comment has been deleted
@Chris Sneakerhead
how much?
Anyone know a levit wesite to buy shoes?
Anyone know a online website for shoes .. A legit website
@xavier987654321 its a few out there but their stock wont b that vast and the price will b super high
nice
I also feel some sort of way that the best release of a signature shoe all year wasn't featured by itself. The KD IV! I dislike every other KD except this one, including the KD V. These were incredibly made, had GORGEOUS colorways, and are the only low top basketball shoes I will ever hoop in because the fit and feel is INCREDIBLE. I can't see how the "Aunt Pearls" or "Gold Medals" weren't on this list representing in their own right! Besides ridiculously limited quantities, and thus leading to huge hype; I don't see how these wouldn't have made a top 15 list let alone a top 30. But hey, that's just my opinion.
Honestly my #1 release of the year was the "Paranorman" Foam. I have copped every limited release and general release foam since 97, and these are the only ones I haven't retrieved; and honestly, it's the one time I didn't feel cheated by either the company (Nike) or retailers as to why I didn't get a release of a particular shoe. It seemed to be an honest and fair raffle on twitter, that gave that patron an extremely well deserved prize for sharing a picture that directly linked to the theme of the product. I submitted plenty of "weird" childhood pics, but understanding that I might not be 1 of the 800 "weirdest" children captured in the world helped settle my disappointment. I haven't even mentioned the craft and beauty of the shoe itself. Next to the galaxy and metallic red it would be my 3rd favorite foamposite. The release was genuine, the theme and idea was genuine and the shoe was simply AMAZING! My favorite sneaker was the galaxy (My favorite sneakers have been foams since they released so I'm extremely bias), but the amount of BS i had to go through and amount of money I had to pay to purchase one pair to actually rock was ridiculous, even though I was and always am willing to do all sorts of waiting, and hours of lines to purchase releases. The paranormans were all positives about a sneaker and it's release, in a world where the "sneaker game" has taken a turn for the worse. It was a huge breath of fresh air on a very recently SUPER HYPED model of sneaker that ranks #1 all time in my opinion.
the zoom revis should have been in the top 1O in my opinion..they were fire!
where the crimson foams at
I don't agree with this list but hey to each their own
Where's the wdywt app SN? Lol just curious on the progress.
Personally i think the foamposite galaxies was the best shoe of 2012 not a huge fan of the yeezys anyway
Amazing pictures that showed off of the little nuances that made each shoe special. Overall this was a good list but I would not have included the Lebron X. That shoe still hasn't found its must have colorway. I can't wait until they announce the Black Friday and Christmas Jordan retros.
For real here. Not brand new but a lil shiny to sneaker blog, release thing. Is there any place like Hanon shop. On line or in our country? Why they do all those great New Balance colorways?
@Tuddy306 You should go back and start over (Kindergarten, first grade, etc.).
Stussy shoe is diffrent. But just in case they gotta slap New York on the back. No hater here I'm a fan of Supreme but enough New York. U dont rule the shoe world. Maybe it's Orgon?
I'm from philly and all but two of Iverson" shoes are crap.
Thebeaner. Is right! His shoes are simply done right. On my shoe list for 2013. Geta pair.
i feel the PARANORMANS was a better FOAM than the GALAXY foams. that slime green on the bottom is better than the galaxys. the green slime smoke screen on the side is dope i mean, the galaxy was dope but i feel the PARANORMANS are better
The Ewings were trash when they were release in the early 90's. hypebeast have made trash popular
@Qubayza ur so right. Slap in the face. These company's think they can re-release crap and cause a craze. They're prob right. I'm sitn in a little row home w/ 18 yrs left til I own it. Has nuthn to do wit bein a knick fan, when I was a young buck I laughed that shoe. Rember bobo's.well they're back in blue and orange
@Qubayza Your entitled to your own opinion, but must not be from NY or if you did you must have lived under a rock back then. When the Ewings dropped EVERYONE under 25 had them back in the 90's. No internet ,no hype machine... just hard core Knickerbocker fans.
@IgotthatFIRE @Qubayza you are correct about that! i had the ewings back in the day and they was the joints to have in NYC! and that buzz came off of seeing people with them, not like how sneaks now a days are constantly pushed by the companies themselves! but to say ewings are trash you are seriously a rookie in this game
props to ronnie fieg tho... He shouldve had most of all his releases on this list....
Think some of the things that go into being on that list are shoes that can leave a lasting impact because of material . Or that represent a trend in the shoe game. For example i wouldnt paint in that Ewing shoe but it does say somthn about todays sneaker buyer and trends.
Nike Flyknit over Bred 11s , 4s , etc ... REALLY?
@WZRDUPSO The Flyknits were just a marketing ploy by Nike for the Olympics. They are ridiculous and only look decent in volt.
@WZRDUPSO yes puto.... flynit is crazy in all aspects with respect to AJ11 bred
@WZRDUPSO wait til u see the technology of that flyknit shoe inspires. Gona b a whole species of shoe w/ that technology. Like hyperfuse is in air max 90 lunar tr 1 , or the lunar bottom af 1 even cole hann shoes. See what i'm sayn. Flyknit gota b somewhere on that list.
Nice kicks
ok so the yeezy got number 1...If we took all the branding of it wouldnt make the list right
how are those lebrons better than playoff 11s LOL
@npt the 11s came out when? the lebrons has BETTER technology going for it! thats why, it's a better shoe to ball in, but as for looks, i rather wear the 11s
This a nice shoe should have been higher
I'm not new at shoes. I am new at being able to comment on shoes. Lets just say no iphones where i was. I dont collect. I wear. The list was big. Sneaker News didnt have to cut alot out. New Balance shoe collabs are incredible. As an oldhead where was air max 95 BB and Lunar Air Force 1. Get that Ewing shoe out there. It was a money project from the beginning. The big shoe companies weren't gona give an aging slow center a big shoe deal. Its a crap shoe. In 10 years if my nephew is paying $400 for Shaq's shoe. I'll wear sandals!
This list is absolutely horrible. Lebron X's shouldn't have made the list at all much less #5