Nike Air Force One Low Top Black Shoes customized with Yellow print bandana scarf. The tongues, checks, toes, and heels are covered.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [4.5-15] and retail at about $185.
Blondie singer Debbie Harry’s fearless femme fatale attitude and urban-chic fashion style can be seen in many of today’s hottest rockers, from Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O to Paramore’s Hayley Williams.
Now Harry’s aesthetic is back in the spotlight with an upcoming Blondie record and line of iconic Converse sneakers, both of which hit stores this spring.
Blondie exploded onto the new wave scene in the late ’70s with hits like “Call Me,” “One Way or Another,” and “Heart of Glass”; they sold 40 million albums and were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Their seamless mix of fashion and music made them unique among a New York City scene that featured bands like Talking Heads and the Ramones.
Harry’s street-smart mash-up of skinny jeans, thriftshop finds, neon colors, and vintage tees complemented her chopped blonde bob and cherry-red lips. And the guys wore slim suits, skinny ties, and Converse Chuck Taylor’s sneaks.
This last fact helps explain why Harry has been working with Converse to develop an iconic line of shoes featuring Blondie designs. “The shoes have been such a staple in rock ‘n roll and fashion for so long,” Harry tells SPIN.com. “It seems like a real genuine kind of relationship.”
The new Blondie sneakers incorporate album graphics, animal prints, and neon — and retail from $55 to $85 for both men and women. Check them out here.
Blondie has also been busy recording a new record, due later this spring.
“It sounds like a mature Blondie album,” Harry says. “We really wanted to have a combination of different elements — that’s sort of been a tradition with us.” Various songs incorporate reggae, pop, and rock — and the lyrics go deeper. “I think that this record will help people understand that one can write rock lyrics that go further into the realm of poetry and literature, that just don’t make simple statements,” guitarist Chris Stein wrote on the band’s blog.
Blondie will tour in support of the new record throughout the summer, and are booked to open for the Strokes at the Isle of Wight Festival in the UK June 11-13. You can order tickets here.
Of today’s musicians, Harry counts psychedelic rockers MGMT among her favorites. But it’s the creative (and sartorial) spirit of Lady Gaga that she really admires: “I think she’s waking up people, giving them a sense of fun and a sense of flamboyance and creativity. It makes people want to party.”
When plaid flannels and ripped jeans have come back to the forefront of street wear fashion, why not launch a shoe named for those who first made the look popular in the 90’s?
Apparently that is the logic employed by some execs somewhere up the corporate chain at Converse: meet Converse’ s “Music Collection” series of Chuck Taylor All Star shoes.
The Music Collection All Stars include models of Chuck Taylor All Stars inspired by Kurt Cobain, Blondie, The Clash, and Metallica. The shoes feature graphics from the bands, song titles and lyrics. One of the Kurt Cobain models reads “Punk Rock Means Freedom.” Aside from the irony that this collection plausibly goes against everything that punk rock stands/stood for, the Kurt Cobain series is especially troubling.
Presumably, a member of the other music groups had some say in okaying the shoes designed that bear their names. However, Mr. Cobain most certainly was not available to weigh in on his signature model of Chuck Taylors.
This isn’t the first time that Converse has produced a Kurt Cobain product: The first sneaker was introduced in 2008, 14 years after his death. The deal was hatched with Primary Wave, a group that purchased a large portion of Cobain’s back catalog from Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love in 2006. The exploits of that transaction are said to be one of the biggest reasons that Cobain is ranked among one of the richest of dead celebrities.
According to Jeff Gordinier in his article “Here we are now,” that appeared in Details of March 2009:
You might say he’s the victim of posthumous gentrification: Memorializing Kurt has turned into its own industrious wing of the media business. In 2006, Forbes crowned Cobain No. 1 on its list of the most lucrative dead celebrities—higher than Elvis Presley and John Lennon
Devin Lasker, of Primary Wave, defended the decision to strike the Chuck Taylor deal with Converse saying “It wasn’t like it was, like, some artist who never wore Converse before.” As a matter of fact, Lasker is absolutely right.
Many photos show the former Nirvana frontman wearing Converse sneakers. Even photos of Cobain’s discovered corpse reveal that he was wearing Converse’s when he died.
The shoes that Cobain died in are the Converse One Stars, which Converse incidentally also created a Kurt Cobain model for:
Are Primary Wave and Converse expecting consumers to take this as some sort of posthumous endorsement? A lot of Nirvana and Kurt Cobain fans would most likely argue the contrary.
Despite all of the troubling moral and philosophical questions raised by this Converse marketing scheme, not everyone sees it as a blight on Cobain’s legacy. In Gordinier’s 2009 article, the writer spoke with Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie about Converse’s 2008 Cobain Chuck Taylors.
If they were making ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ into ‘Eight-Piece Box’ for, like, Kentucky Fried Chicken, yeah, that would offend me… But if it takes a Kurt Cobain Converse to remind people to go buy Nirvana records, that’s fine with me.
April 5th of 2010 will mark the 16th anniversary of Cobain’s self-inflicted death. What is your opinion of Converse using Cobain’s namesake in their “Music Collection?”
Amputee Phil Moore — angered when employees at Sports Direct in Barnsley, England, refused to sell him a single Nike sneaker for half the cost of a pair — snatched a size-9 from the display stand and tried to make a run for it.
Looks like this crime got off on the wrong foot.
Amputee Phil Moore — angered when employees at Sports Direct in Barnsley, England, refused to sell him a single Nike sneaker for half the cost of a pair — snatched a size-9 from the display stand and tried to make a run for it.
He didn’t get far on his crutches.
“Everyone thinks it’s funny, and my friends have given me some real stick and still haven’t stopped laughing,” Moore, 48, told the London Daily Mail. “I don’t mind them having a giggle, but … amputees should be able to buy one shoe.
“If they had allowed me to do that, then I’d never have got arrested in the first place.”
Nike Inc. is seeking to wrest control over 66 Internet domain names it says are hawking counterfeit goods.
The Washington County-based athletic footwear and apparel giant filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Virginia against the domain names, all of which are registered to entities in China.
The domain names were registered through VeriSign Inc. in Dulles, Va. Nike is seeking an injunction to have VeriSign transfer the names into Nike’s control.
Nike officials declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Officials with the nonprofit Coalition Against Domain Name Abuse, of which Nike is a member, said the case is an example of the rampant growth of cybersquatters, a practice it says can cause damage to a corporate brand.
“It’s pervasive. Anywhere from dozens to hundreds of domain names can be registered every day that infringe upon their marks,” said Phil Lodico, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based coalition. “The sheer scale of it is like death by a million papercuts.”
The group estimates that cybersquatting costs brand owners $1 billion a year through diverted Internet traffic, the loss of consumer trust and expenses related to combating the issue.
Nike’s lawsuit does not seek any financial compensation, though the company argues that the domains — using names such as NikeShoesInc.com, NikeObama.com, and Nike-Brand.com — are being used to sell unlicensed or counterfeit products with the company’s trademarks.
“Through such actions, Nike is irreparably damaged through consumer confusion, dilution and tarnishment of its valuable trademarks,” the company said in court documents.
While legal actions against domain names by major consumer brands isn’t unusual, the Nike lawsuit stands out for sheer volume, said Andy Coombs, a Glendale, Calif., attorney serving as Nike’s outside counsel on the case.
Coombs couldn’t speak to Nike’s case in particular, but he said similar domain name disputes are often handled case-by-case through an online arbitration process called the Uniform Domain Name Resolution Policy.
But that same process could require companies like Nike to bring proceedings against every registrant one-by-one.
Coombs sent each party cease-and-desist letters on Nov. 25 on behalf of Nike, giving them 10 days to respond.
The lawsuit was filed only after receiving insufficient or no responses from the domain name owners, he said.
E-mails sent by the Business Journal to several of the allegedly fraudulent Web sites went unreturned.
Since the lawsuit was filed on Jan. 28, nobody has registered to defend the case.
Nike filed for relief under the federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act passed by Congress in 1999, a law Lodico said doesn’t provide an adequate deterrent for cybersquatters.
The law calls for penalties in the range of $1,000 to $100,000 per infraction. Lodico believes the penalties should be limited to the higher end of that spectrum.
“The purpose of a piece of legislation isn’t to have brand owners file lots of lawsuits,” Lodico said. “Wouldn’t it be better if there were a law on the books to deter the action from even happening?”
Nike Air Force One Low Top White Shoes customized with Turquoise print bandana scarf. The tongues, checks, toes, and heels are covered.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [4.5-15] and retail at about $185.
Nike subsidiary Cole Haan has agreed to eliminate exotic skins like lizard, snake and alligator from its product lines.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Thursday that Cole Haan is the first maker of high-end accessories and shoes to ban exotic skins. Cole Haan, which is based in New York and Yarmouth, Maine, defines exotic as including alligator, crocodile, lizard, snake and ostrich.
Nike spokesman Nate Tobecksen says products using those materials will be eliminated across the entire Nike line after the summer retail season.
PETA has successfully lobbied Nike and Cole Haan in the past. Cole Haan announced in 2008 that it would stop using fur in its product lines.
Nike Cortez Leather White & Grey customized with Dark Grey Bandana on the checks, toes, and tongues.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [3.5-15] and retail at about $135.
Nike Cortez Leather Black & White customized with Dark Grey Bandana on the checks, toes, and tongues.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [3.5-15] and retail at about $135.
Nike Cortez Leather White & Navy customized with Navy Bandana on the checks, toes, and tongues.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [3.5-15] and retail at about $135.
These are Authentic Vans customized with Bandana print scarf. Black shoes. Wine Bandana Scarf. These shoes are available in Men’s Sizes (6-14) and retail for about $140. The sides and back are covered with bandana scarf.
Wine Bandana Scarf used to customize the Vans.
Nike Cortez Leather White & Grey customized with Turquoise Bandana on the checks, toes, and tongues.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [3.5-15] and retail at about $135.
Nike Air Force One Low Top White Black/Royal Blue Bandana Shoes customized with Black and Royal Blue paisley print bandana scarf. The tongues, checks, toes, sides, and heels are covered.
These shoes are available in Big Kid’s (Women’s) and Men’s Sizes [4.5-15] and retail at about $200.
These shoes are shown with a custom duo-tone scarf made of Black and Royal blue scarves.
Last night, Jordan Brand, a division of NIKE, Inc., unveiled its latest chapter of the “Become Legendary” national brand campaign, entitled “Nightmares Never Sleep” starring Team Jordan and All-Star athlete Dwyane Wade.
“Nightmares Never Sleep” headlines an integrated marketing campaign debuting the AIR JORDAN 2010 worn by Dwyane Wade in the ad. The television spot takes viewers to another world view of a basketball player’s “nightmares” when dealing with the unstoppable, All-Star Dwyane Wade on-court during an intense basketball game. Wade will be the first Team Jordan athlete to debut the AIR JORDAN 2010 on-court during this year’s All-Star weekend.
“We chose the ‘Nightmares Never Sleep’ spot to debut the AIR JORDAN 2010 and to show how unstoppable Dwyane Wade is as a basketball player,” said Sean Tresvant, Marketing Director for Jordan Brand. “The ad also continues the Brand’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the AIR JORDAN basketball shoe.”
Created by W&K New York, “Nightmares Never Sleep” will air today on major networks including ESPN, TNT, ABC, and in cinemas nationwide. Print ads will also be featured in Antenna, RISE, Slam, XXL, Dime, Bounce and Sole Collector in upcoming January-March issues.
The integrated ad campaign will also be fully complemented with a digital presence, created by Blast Radius, for www.Jumpman23.com, as well as in-store retail marketing and consumer events throughout 2010.
Last time we showed you the newly-released Air Jordan Alpha 1 Tinker Hatfield, and now we get a chance to review its features as it is now available at Finish Line.
As the first to design an Air Jordan model, Tinker Hatfield is back to the scene, not to remake another shoe but to receive the honor that the brand has dedicated through the latest Alpha 1 release. As shown in a heavily-perforated Birch-colored leather upper, this tribute sneaker has its own way of expressing the efforts done by Hatfield during the time he was assigned to design the Air Jordan III. Black Swoosh and Black tongue were both in accordance to the midsole. Air Jordan wing logo appears near the collar while the Jumpman logo took the tongue and heel spots.
What will interest you more is the Orange Blaze collar and inner liner as well as the insole with the same text color that reads, “THE FIRST TO BRING COLOR TO THE GAME.” for the left shoe and “THANK YOU.” for the right shoe. The pack finishes with a clear icy outsole.
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