As you may already know, this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend festivities will be held in Los Angeles, so to celebrate, Nike will be releasing a slew of All-Star footwear inspired by the upcoming event’s home city. Yesterday at The Vault outside of Staples Center, Nike held a media showcase to flaunt some of the new goodies that we’ll be seeing in a few weeks during 2011 All-Star action. The collection has been split into three different sub-sections, each one honoring a different section of the LA area. For each of the three regions, there will be a Zoom Kobe VI and two Hyperfuse Lows featuring color schemes and special logos and LA branding inspired by the respective identity of the three subjects – Hollywood, East LA and Orange County.
In addition to a display of the shoes spread throughout The Vault, there was also a Q&A session hosted by Kevin Frazier designed to provide a more in-depth understanding of the ideas behind the collection. Nike designer Erick Goto, an LA native and the man behind these eye-catching new colorways, was brought onstage to give those in attendance a behind the scenes account of how the project came to be and exactly what the inspiration was for each color scheme – like the beautiful orange sunset graphic that graces the Orange County Zoom Kobe VI and the 3-D nod to Hollywood that appears on both the Kobe VI and two accompanying Hyperfuse Lows. Continue reading for a detailed look at the upcoming Nike Basketball All-Star 2011 collection and keep an eye out for the rest of the shoes either at or hitting retailers during the next few weeks.