K-Swiss have partnered with Japan’s premier sneaker retailer Atmos to create this triple header project. Launched with an event in Harajuku on the 27th of September, the shoes comprise a curious selection of models and styles, all decorated with the deft touch ofthe Atmos crew, led by store owner Hommyo Hidefumi.
Fromtheir trans-continental HQs in Harajuku and Harlem, Atmos are perfectly placed to interpret and direct trend traffic like nobody else. As faras product development goes, the brand has a peerless record established over the past decade or so, meaning virtually anything they put their hand to achieves a form of instant credibility. Think back totheir stellar Nike colabs, not to mention North Face, New Balance andmost recently Puma. K-Swiss to their credit, has not been previously known as a brand to hand out the colab deals willy nilly, making this alliance even more intriguing.
The cashmere croc upper on these models is nice and simple, but it’s the rhinestone encrusted stripes that really make these shoes a zinging novelty. Given it’s designed forthe fellas, the diamantes are so fashion forward nutty, it’s hard to even know what to say as a sneaker head except that it’s certainly new(in a confronting way) and I can’t think of a single thing to compare it to.
Atmos would certainly know better than anyone which direction the Tokyo market is headed and after our week in Japan, the glitzy augmentation certainly seems to make more sense. The swingshift in the domestic sneaker market towards frillier fashion is immediately obvious the moment you enter Harajuku. Trad-sports brands are suffering badly!
These sneakers will be released throughout the rest of Fall 2008 in K-Swiss locations in Japan, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the U.S.A.