The Alife Chuck is one of the dressier sneakers being released from Alife. Most of the previous versions of this model have been released in more conservative colorways like tan, brown and black. The “RGB Pack,” goes in the opposite direction by releasing three pairs all in vibrant solid colors. Featuring a full suede upper, these Chucks come in: Red, Blue and Green (hence the namesake “RBG Pack”). All three pairs have matching soles giving them a fully monochromatic look. via Sneakerfreaker

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Kanye West’s collaboration with Nike on his Nike Air Yeezy was arguably the most talked about shoe this year and the demand around these shoes is still huge, even months after their release. What most people don’t know is that these shoes were actually created for Kanye’s Glow In The Dark Tour. Mark Smith and Kanye West set out to create a shoe that would not only be a collaboratin between Nike and the Louis Vuitton Don but also create a piece of footwear that would offer support and stability to ‘Ye while he was performing across the world. Here is a detailed look at Kanye in some never before released colorways of the Air Yeezy while he was on his phenomenal 2008 Glow In The Dark Tour. This beautiful imagery comes courtesy of Kanye’s new book, Glow In The Dark, that serves as a visual reference of the historical tour, and photographer Nabil Elderkin. via KANYEWEST.US

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Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and a number of  a-listers were on hand for the opening of Philippe Chow’s fifth namesake restaurant, this time in Los Angeles. Kobe rocked the black and pink Nike Air Yeezy while Lamar Odom surprisingly had on a pair of navy blue Supra TK Society. Pau Gasol showed up in black shoes, Serena Williams was in heels, Sofia Vergara also in heels, Khloe Kardashian apparently now Ms Odom in heels and finally Sasha Vujacic and Tyrese Gibson were also spotted but we didn’t make out their shoes.

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The Nike Doernbecher Freestyle Foundation Auction was a huge success, partly with the help of SOLE.  But not only is their help in the form of heavy promotion, but adding to the overall vibe by creating inspiring art provoked by the inspirational event itself.  Additional to the wall pieces we recently showed, Vincent aka Krupky of SOLE also created this.  Though the Yeezy was not one of the models used in the Doernbecher colleciton, or is the Nike product that is symbolic with “Air,” it certainly is a great selection to use as an art piece in the light of the serious buzz around its release.

A single Air Yeezy (the right shoe in the Black/Pink colorway to be exact), was deconstructed and assembled into an abstract airplane.  The contours of the shoe itself seem to make it quite enabling to resemble an aircraft.  The padding from the ankle’s upper accent as spoilers for the wings, the glow sole gives life to the figure of the fuselage, the pull tab acts as a rudder and the lacelock fits nicely in the jet engines.  Bits of the sole were even utilized as runway lights.  And like all models that need to be proudly displayed, the shoelaces are cleverly used to hang the final product.  Overall a nice concept and good execution.  Props to Krupky of SOLE.

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During the NBA 2K10 video game launch party, New York Knicks Guard, Nate Robinson, went head to head with hip-hop artist, Wale. Both looked focus during their one-on-one game of 2K10 and both had on some heat. Nate showing that he has more goodies outside of his “Kryptonate” Foamposite Lites as he wore the Black colorway of the Nike x Kanye West Air Yeezy. Wale on the other hand continues to showcase his collection of Jordan’s, this time pulling out the Air Jordan VI from the original Air Jordan DMP that was released a few years ago.

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The Nike x Doernbecher Children’s Hospital partnership has already raised a boatload of dough with the recent auctions of the Grammy and Air Jordan VI editions of the Air Yeezy, and the mission is still underway. Nike and Doernbecher have joined forces with Sole Collector for a new charitable endeavor. Two different Air Yeezy-inspired t-shirts have just been released. Both shirts are black with one using pink print with the laser-cut graphics from the Grammy Air Yeezy collectors box and the other sports white glow-in-the-dark ink displaying some early design sketches for the Yeezy’s. Both shirts also have the Sole Collector and Doernbecher logos printed on the sleeve with the original heel tab logo on the back, but you still haven’t even heard the best part. The purchase of one of these shirts enters you in a raffle to win a pair of these patent-strapped Tan Air Yeezy’s in your size, personally laser customized by none other than Mark Smith. Whether you like the shirts or not, all the proceeds got to the hospital and it seems like a small price to pay for a chance at winning something so special. To purchase yours, click here.

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The photo above is like Kanye West’s own ‘Evolution of Man’.  No, we don’t mean that he’s growing as an artist and a person after dealing with more than one controversy conspicuously humbly of late (way to almost-tearfully apologize, ‘Ye).  More like, it took a while to build the Nike Air Yeezy.  We already know how many different midsole combinations KW and the IK (Nike’s Innovation Kitchen) went through before settling on the Air Jordan III-like Air Assault Retro tooling.  Take a look at more sketches after the jump; would you have copped the yellow/grey version had it hit retail?  via SC

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With all the talk about how dope it would be to own the Grammy or AJ VI-soled Yeezy sample, take a load of these prototypes and realize how many different forms the Air Yeezy could have taken.  Though we’ve previously seen an inside look at the production process, Nike’s Mark Smith and Tiffany Beers discuss several ideas, dead-ends and problems they encountered while trying to execute the best possible version of Nike’s first non-athlete signature shoe.

Ever wonder why images of the glow-in-the-dark soles look so bright?  It’s not photoshopped if that’s what you’re thinking.  The design team meticulously experimented with different mixes of rubber to get the brightest and long lasting glow without compromising the integrity of the sole.  But even before they decided on the glow route, Kanye pushed for a battery-operated illuminating sole.  Some may speculate he would want something like this, trying to embrace the futuristic aura of the “most likely never to be retailed,” Marty McFly prototype.  Nonetheless, Nike found it to be more practical to drop this concept.  Not only was the glow agreed to make a better look, those who were able to grab a pair of Air Yeezy’s would have supposedly been paying far more if they contained this electro luminescence technology.

It seems that most of the design variations lied in the aesthetics of the midsole.  One of the images after the jump shows a very rare look samples of midsoles with “Death Star” contours where an air bag would typically be on Nike’s.  Fortunately for us, the final product donned a more familiar look endearing to most sneakerheads’ hearts.  Hold up Kanye, Nike can’t use Jordan templates!  Behold a clever solution… thanks to Yeezy himself, actually.  The canny artist managed to surpass a technicality by using the tooling for the Nike Air Assault Retro, which is pretty much the same midsole as the Air Jordan III but has Nike branding on the sole.  What would we do without Kanye’s strive to go the distance?  Not a dope shoe, and certainly not a plethora of samples.  Be sure to check out the images below for an even more in-depth look at the making of the Air Yeezy.  via SC.

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