Will any ‘Pack’ release top the 2012 All-Star Collection? The 2013 Pack is a worthy effort, but the ‘Galaxy’ still reigns supreme as it introduced a whole new set of concepts for basketball shoes in terms of graphic options, colorways, and the sheer abuse of details. In China, during the “Battle of Guangzhou” event, Nike Basketball released a super-limited edition Nike 2012 All-Star Galaxy Pack that included all three shoes, an incredible three-tiered box, and a gold hangtag that individually numbered all fifteen units. Navy blue looks good on the Nike SB Dunk Low, just ask Reese Forbes, Natas Kaupas and Levi Strauss & Co. ?It works well in denim on the two referenced designs and also in suede on this upcoming drop, a colorway whose white contrast stitching confers a bit of that jeanswear appeal. It’s a bit ironic that the Bespoke headlines have slowed down considerably during the year of the Air Force 1′s 30th Anniversary, but that might be due to the fact that the Supreme-grade releases and the sick iD options made top-shelf Forces much more affordable. Regardless, a few hardcore fanatics are getting their Bespokes done, like Luis Valle, who shows off this sick digi-pixelated upper in brown/khaki blocks.
These, however, never did release, but a few samples did manage to make their way into the hands of some lucky recipients and collectors. If the Nike Mag 2011 is too rich for your blood, consider these unreleased Hyperdunk 2010 ‘McFly’ Promo Samples as a worthy replacement. Last year’s Nike Zoom Kobe V ‘Chaos’ lived up to its name, featuring a chaotic mix of colors that meshed together quite well. For the Kobe VI, the colors are a bit tamer – probably more comparable to the Chaos Kobe IV – as it features grey, white, purple, and red. Nike already applied the Shield Collection touch to the usual suspects for a new pack of weather-proof runners for the holiday season, and now we see the Swoosh take stock of the fact that the sky nastiness will continue for several more months and we want more color options. Enter the ‘Bright Crimson’ Shield Collection, an accomplished quartet of cutting-edge running models whose coloring is roughly?reversed?from the above mentioned HO12 drops, opting for red up top and a soft grey midsole to match the Vintage Box-ish tongue tag.
Another of adidas Originals’ heritage models joins the Year of the Snake party, but whereas other models present the question of whether to scale the Stripes/branding or the base layer, this pair skips that decision entirely. ?The adidas Originals Rod Laver doesn’t have stripes anyway, this classic vulc-soled edition opting instead for snake treatment on the forefoot and heel badge. The “Power Couple” Nike Zoom Soldier VII isn’t the only pair of takedown sneakers in King James’ immediate future to get graphic on us. Also on the way is this pink/yellow/blue pair that sports some of the same patterns. Each has been limited to 750 pairs and have all gone pretty fast, but now for the February offering comes something sure to disappear even quicker. Until now, if you wanted elephant print on an Air Force 1, you could check out eBay for one of a handful of previous general releases that dabbled with the beloved pattern, or if you really wanted to go all out, you could always put it on a Bespoke.