With the recent hype surrounding the launch of the Nike Air Yeezy, I thought it completely necessary to dig back into the archives and re-hype the release of the best female sneaker collaborations of past.

We can all thank the mighty Missy Elliott for paving a flowerbed pavement for other chickadees to follow. The hoopla surrounding Missy Elliott’s range, which is no longer available, was so strong downunder, let alone the US, it was inevitable that the collection would be a massive milestone for the female freakette. Released on the back of the women empowerment movement, Respect M.E., a chunk of the proceeds went to Missy’s domestic violence charity organization.

I present to you my all time top 5 female sneaker collabs.

LA GEAR X CLUB ZONDER FILTER – STARDUST FIREBALL
Just like a bolt of lightning out of nowhere, came two scene kids with a fresh attitude and party vibe, leading them to become the party ambassadors of Amsterdam (I shit you not!). Josine and Kristel, the head honchos at Club Zonder Filter wrote a love letter to their favourite sneaker brand, LA Gear, pleading for a comeback of rhinestone encrusted high tops – the ones they fiended for so lovingly in the ‘90s yet were too young to score. The brand saw an undeniable opportunity and brought the two ladies on board to revive their Stardust model, naming it the “Fireball” and decking it out with infrared suede uppers, hot pink satin accents, obligatory bows and must-have bling pops. With an incredibly limited release at Amsterdam’s number one sneaker spot, Patta, these scorchers never made it to Australia – but you know I gots mine! Stay tuned, as I hear the girls are back in the lab with the European sector of LA Gear to produce something even more mind-blowing in the future.

ADIDAS X MAMA – PRO MAMA
I’ve talked so much about this label on The Vine already, but the first Pro Model adidas ever designed and released in collaboration with a lady gets MAYJAH points with me. A bold move from a bold lady, the Pro Model is not your normal low fi choice for a freakette to freak on, but this bad boy had so much style and ingenuity, ladies all over the globe were wishing they had the idea first. The Pro Model became massive in adidas’ EQT heyday (the ‘90s) and was mostly seen on b-ball courts but rarely on the femmes. Gabriella at Mama waved her magic wand to produce a stealth collab that nodded its head to Chanel’s iconic toecap piece and embossed a repeat love-heart pattern that remained invisible in most print pictures, but jumped to life in the hand. Rounding it out with the nameplate MAMA lace lock, these were also mad hard to score, but you know the Mama Muff had to be hooked up. With a sock liner blessing Mama’s motto “always a lady”, the Pro Mama answered all those cries for men’s sneakers in woman’s sizes. FRESH!

MOB X COLETTE X REEBOK
Ok, so I rarely, if ever, rock a Reebok Freestyle as my foot is wider than my ass, but getting two of the hottest brands on board to collaborate with a shoe celebrating its 25th anniversary, you can understand why girls were going nuts. NYC’s bad girls Married To The Mob and Parisian boutique Colette dropped these cats in early 2008, with an all-over lipstick kiss trademark that had been featured heavily in Leah’s MOB designs. It was a no-brainer to get the kisses on a shoe, but to deck them out on an icy glitter sole and wrap them in a plush tote bag, the ladies left no detail unturned. They seem to be still one of the most hunted shoes on eBay, with only a handful produced. I am lucky number 291. Honourable mention goes to last years Nike x MOB Chanel – inspired Dunk Hi from the ladies. These are a must have, yet considering the lush boucle tweed and patent toe cap, these plush puppies are best left for the pool room, not the foot.

FAFI X ADIDAS ADICOLOR W2 – PINK SERIES
Way back in 2006, artists and stores collaborated the world over to celebrate the adidas adicolor – a shoe produced by adidas in the ‘70s which came complete with markers and the ability to customize the all white upper to your own liking. French graffiti artist, Fafi was the only woman invited to design a shoe. With plenty of satin silk materials, and screen-printed Fafi cherub characters, it was the cute ass lace locks that had me at hello!

NIKE BLAZER X CLAW MONEY
Perhaps the most prolific female graff artist to come out of the world, let alone her hometown New York, Claw Money made waves last year with not one but two collabos with the Swooshsters. Her peacock Vandal High was the radness, but it was the Claw inspired bandana all-over print Nike Blazer that blitzed my glitch! With 3M pops that made love to the sun, this was THE summer shoe of ’08. It’s the one collabo here that could not be held prisoner in its box and inevitably got the shit rocked out of it. Dolla Dolla bill$ yo!