How’s your sneaker/trainer collection these days? Still in triple figures or have you stream-lined it down to a small but tidy firm of OGs and Limited Editions?
Mine is still on the increase though it has calmed down since those heady (or should that be footy) days of 2005 when Sneakers: The Complete Guide was a rare and welcome reference bible for us grail hunters. Fast forward nine years and many, many rectangular boxes later and we now have Sneakers: The Complete Limited Editions Guide hitting our shelves, an equally essential trainer tome documenting the more recent phenomenon that is the ‘collab’. Now depending on your tastes and your upbringing you’ll either be pleasantly surprised and immediately running off to ebay credit card in hand or seriously disturbed and running to the nearest waterproof receptacle by the various custom jobs and remixes on show in this comprehensive book. For me it was a mixture of both, though I went easy on certain models that displayed originality even if they weren’t to my liking (yes Snoop Dogg/Lion I’m talking about you). Though why my beloved adidas ever though making Metro Attitudes with Teddy bears on them was a good idea is way beyond my comprehension and something I have only just learnt to laugh at. If you’re a fellow trainer obsessive then it’s unlikely I need to convince you that this is a top read as you’ll already be well aware of this book’s impressive predecessor and more than likely already reading this new version right now. If you haven’t got a copy yet then I must warn you it’ll probably send you off on another nine years of expensive footwear foraging and mean another decade not going on holiday. Cream of the collab crop for me were the Saniqwa Jarvis ZX 500s, the Reigning Champ All Stars Los, the Supreme Bruins and the La MJC x Colette NB M1500s all of which I would happily swap a kidney for should any transplant surgeons reading this have size 13 feet and be willing to cut a deal. You need this book almost as much as you need those trainers.
