Sneakers

Sneaker Freaker touched down in a hot and steamy Hong Kong last week for the launch of the Hypebeast x PUMA ‘Dim Sum Project’. In between laying tracks through Mong Kok’s maze of sneaker stores and getting our Asian karaoke virginity broken, SF also sat down with PUMA footwear designer Jon Tang and Hypebeast managing editor Eugene Kan to learn how the new colab came together. SF: I know you're Canadian born and bred, Eugene, so why'd you move to Hong Kong? Is the dim sum really that good here?Eugene: I came here to play soccer, a shitty level of professional soccer! I had so much free time because you only train two to three hours a day, and you're not really balling like you're playing in the EPL. I started writing for Kix-Files in 2006, I was just doing something I really enjoyed and it paid off. I still think about it now with the people that come through Hypebeast, the people that genuinely do it because they love it. The unpaid intern that you beat around, you understand that the pure passion takes you a long way. That’s how it started for me too. SF: Coming from a soccer background, how did your love for sneakers evolve?Eugene: Performance in footwear. I thought that relationship was so cool, how performance could be enhanced by equipment. I always gravitated towards things like visible air.SF: How did it differ for you Jon, coming from a design-based background?Jon: I started out in graphic design. School taught me how to think like a designer. I started working for PUMA in the marketing department as a graphic designer, so I was always surrounded by influences. I love doing packaging design and slowly seeing the 2D world wrap into a 3D world – seeing the translation that was created. I love shoes, I love 3D, and so I applied for a footwear design position with PUMA.SF: PUMA has such a strong stable of classics from Clydes to Suedes, how did you make the decision to work with the Blaze OG for this collaboration?Eugene: For me, Clydes and Suedes are limited in what you can manipulate on them. From a design perspective, the Blaze offered so much more to work with.Jon: PUMA wanted us to work with the Blaze. They loved the heritage the shoe already had and we also wanted to work with the LTWT version. It all just came together perfectly, taking classic and pushing it with the idea of performance. The OG is classic and simple, while the Lightweight has this touch of tech and innovation.Eugene: People are slowly starting to understand that paradigm shift from bulky tooling. It's the unspoken contrast, the high and low concept Hypebeast has often aspired to represent. Streetwear meets high fashion! When you look for contrast in unassuming ways, you will always find something interesting.SF: Comfy. Visually representing a dim sum on a shoe couldn’t have been easy. While the Siu Mai is rather straight forward, the Har Gao’s (shrimp) design is quite complex. Talk us through the process.Jon: We did a number of trials, applying images of shrimp on the shoe. It didn’t really work out at first.Eugene: The early samples looked pretty wack!Jon: Yeah. We began to look at macro images of shrimp, basically looking into what makes the shrimp a shrimp. We found a lot of correlation to tiger stripes in the shrimp. So we said let’s take this idea and re-purpose it with shrimp colours – it’s a refreshed shrimp camo.SF: With over 150 types of dim sum, what was it about these two that stood out for you to be the representation for the colab.Eugene: When it comes to the institution of dim sum, there are no other dishes that are ordered in unison so frequently. It's because they are so similar. If you look at it broken down, the base ingredient is different, but it's your peas and carrots.Jon: If you don’t eat it, it’s like you don’t eat dim sum! It just made perfect sense, it had to come together like this.SF: Word, bir

Animal print is looking to hit the summer hard as we see the Vans Old Skool take on a fresh leopard print. The Vans Old Skool “Leopard” puts a leopard print on the upper of the shoe that gets complimented with black along the tongue, frontal toe and inner. The metallic eyelets add a nice touch to the shoe while the white midsole with black trim creates a complete look. You can grab these wild animal Vans now over at Size?. Source SN © Matty M. for KicksOnFire, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Vans, Vans Old Skool, Vans Old Skool Leopard Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Sometimes we're guilty of forgetting music is more than Yeezy, Weezy, Jeezy, Madonna and friends – there are still dudes out there getting sweaty and slapping guitars at every other bar in your town. Converse certainly knows, and they've had the rock crowd on lock long before Cobain slipped on his favourite One Stars. History says they know how to party too, so we're pretty pumped for this 'Get Loud' Australian tour – they're bringing along Canada's favourite low-fi rock cabaret act The King Khan and BBQ Show as well as a stack of other bands with equally funny names like Scotdrakula, Doctopus and Ham Jam. Respect to these trippers. Check the flyer below to know when the show hits your town. Tickets are free of charge and available exclusively via RSVP on the Converse Australia Facebook page.

Japan's United Arrows know how to make tidy colourways, it's proven science, and this latest drop from the colab lab ain't no placebo, it's the real deal fo' sho. They've given adidas' ZX500 OG a golf green and cream do-over, with a brown outsole and fluro tread bringing plenty of pop. You can grab it now from Overkill.

As news of the Nike Roshe Run “Tie Dye” broke yesterday, new images of the colorful kicks have finally arrived. What definitely has a lot of folks talking, these Roshe kicks are again highlighted by their tie dye designed upper which serves up a very bold and vibrant finish. Perhaps you’d like a pair? If so, stay tuned for more release date details. via solebox

With the weather warming up we’ve been seeing brands release a slew of new collections for the new season. Today we get a look at The Hundreds “Hawaii” Collection that’s set to hit stores this Friday. The collection will consist of a bunch of goodies that are two tank tops, three graphic tees, a snapback, and a drink coozie. All pieces will feature the Adam Bomb in a new Pineapple skin to fit perfect for the Hawaii theme. The bad news is that this will be a limited release that will only release at Hawaiian-based retailers which are Blue Hawaii, Prototype, One Eighty Boardshop, Island Snow, Know1 and In4mation. Nonetheless the collection will be available May 24th, 2013 for all our Hawaiian readers.

If you missed out on the Ewing 33 Hi “Red Suede”, here’s your lucky chance to get a pair of the signature Patrick Ewing kicks as they have been restocked once again and are now available at Sole Heaven.

If you missed out on the Ewing 33 Hi “Blue Suede”, here’s your lucky chance to get a pair of the signature Patrick Ewing kicks as they have been restocked once again and are now available at Sole Heaven.

If you missed out on the Ewing 33 Hi “White/Orange-Blue”, here’s your lucky chance to get a pair of the signature Patrick Ewing kicks as they have been restocked once again and are now available at Sole Heaven.

After their buzz with the release of the Reebok Question Mid “Crocus” back in March, Stockholm-based retailer Sneakersnstuff has some else brewing with the classic Reebok Question Mid. Just days ago, 106 & Park’s host, Bow Wow, was spotted in what’s suspected to be the brand’s latest interpretation of the Question which looks to come in a red suede and powder blue color combination. As its exact color scheme is still unknown, preview images reveal a white midsole and matching red/burgundy outsole for a complete finish. As we anticipate a release in the coming weeks of Summer, stay tuned to Sneaker Files for more on these kicks! via Getty