Style Recap: Sneaker Takeaways from LFW FW19
The first stop on the fashion circuit generated some extraordinary heat within the sneaker scene. A-COLD-WALL* continues to reveal some of the most inspired Nike collaborations we’ve seen, Bulgarian designer Kiko Kostadinov again lit up the ASICS catalogue, Cottweiler coined the ‘sneafer’, and Li-Ning proved they’re one of the most underrated sneaker brands of 2019.
Buckle up, London just turned it up to 100.
A-COLD-WALL* CONTINUE TO HEAT UP
A-COLD-WALL* are looking to continue their strong momentum in 2019, with the London-based brand revealing three more colourways of the brutalist Zoom Vomero +5. Proprietor Samuel Ross had a huge 2018, again linking up with Nike for the Air Force 1, while finally dropping the abstract Shard Low in December.
The 27-year-old is also not shying away from the loaded political landscape in Europe. Using the migration crises as the conceptual backbone to his FW19 show, Ross implemented water, life rafts, and a barking doberman to convey the geospatial unease currently washing across England and the broader EU region.
Expect a flurry of Zoom Vomero +5s, Air Force 1s, and Shard Lows in 2019, as Samuel Ross and A-COLD-WALL* really start to heat up the sneaker scene.
COTTWEILER COIN THE 'SNEAFER'
Longtime Reebok collaborators Cottweiler put on one of their strongest shows to date in London, designers Ben Cottrell and Matthew Dainty leveraging their hometowns of Essex and Bristol for their latest collection. They also revealed what was later nicknamed the ‘sneafer’, a bizarre mashup between a loafer and chunky sneaker.
What’s stranger than ending a show with Christina Aguilera’s ‘What a Girl Wants’? The fact that the ‘sneafer’ might actually work...
KIKO REIGNITES ASICS
ASICS’ collaboration with Bulgarian designer Kiko Kostadinov resulted in some of the most inspired sneaker efforts in 2018 (our personal favourite: the ASICS Gel-Burz 1). Kiko dropped more collaborative heat in London, revealing the high-top ASICS Gel-Sokat 2 within an eerie atmosphere that took aesthetic cues from the 1960s thriller Midnight Lace, and everybody's worst nightmare: The Ring.
REMIXING SOME CONVERSE CLASSICS
Feng Chen Wang continues her deconstruction of the Chuck Taylor on the world’s runways, the Chinese-born designer revealing her ‘One Two Three’ show in London beneath the legendary record store, Phonica. The Chuck 70 and ERX were the latest Converse models to get reworked, the silhouettes reimagined with a hiking aesthetic reminiscent of high fashion’s modern interpretation of sneaker culture.
PRONOUNCE CLIMB ABOARD THE FURIOUS RIDER
The Furious Rider ACE stormed onto the streetwear scene back in September, the surprise silhouette by Li-Ning nailing a kind of retrofuturism combined with 90s running aesthetics. The fledgling chinese label Pronounce, fronted by Yushan Li and Jun Zhou, took on what looked to be an updated version of the Furious Rider ACE in their London show, alongside a brand new silhouette that is yet to be identified.
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