If 2012 saw anything in the custom sneaker game it was the growth in the use of animal skins for reconstructions. 2013 has seen that trend only continue to increase in popularity. The latest animal endeavor comes from a well known name, Mache coming together with a relatively unknown name, Relevant Customs to make The REAL Nike What the Kobe VIII.
Shoe Brands
Air Jordan III White Python by @JBFcustoms for Wale
“You can’t get these.” That is the only statement anyone to ever obsessively wear a pair of sneakers wants to tell EVERYONE. But these days most anyone that wants a sneaker release will get it as they are nearly all 99% attainable. So how do you out do the next man….and next and next? Get vintage or customized. Odds are vintage aren’t gonna be wearable so you gotta get a retro release made unlike something on a store shelve. One known to do that and one known to provide for that are Wale and JBF Customs.
Interview with Sneaker Patch Extraordinaire @HerbJuice
If you’ve been wondering how some customizers have been adding special patches to their customizations here is your answer: Herbjuice. If you know the name you’ve likely come across his work on the aforementioned sneaker customizers or his patches of Air Jordan and Nike silhouettes posted all over Instagram. With his growing popularity in the custom scene we had to get more info on how Herbjuice’s whole production came about. So read below to see what has happened and what might be next.
Nike Lebron 9 “What the 90s” by District Customs
Everywhere you look on this custom is like a new experience you didn’t notice the first time. Made as a gift to his girlfriend District Customs brought the feel of a very loved decade in this custom Nike Lebron 9 titled What the 90s. The hand painted effort using the Summit Lake Hornets colorway as a base combined numerous patterns, so many that we are not gonna count.
Custom Lookback | Nike Dunk Mountain Dew Custom Shoes by DEZ
If this shoe looks familiar and you never saw it the first time in 2008 or spotted them in the streets, what you saw likely was not authentic. These are from a time when the Nike Dunk was the choice shoe amongst both sneaker customizers and sneakerheads. DEZ, a graffiti artist known for putting his work on everything from walls to kicks, made these “Do the Dew” Nike Dunks as a complementary piece to his Mountain Dew Green Label Art winning bottle design.
Customizer Workspace Wednesday with MonsterMac Designs
If you are up on your sneaker-customizer-following-Instagram-game or diehard Vans fan you likely know the name MonsterMac Designs and his plethora of accurately detailed Vans customizations. He often shares progress shots of each 1 of 1 pair he creates on a nearly daily basis. To kickoff the revival of Customizer Workspace Wednesday’s MM has allowed PaintOrThread to share with the rest of the world where boring all white canvas kicks become one of a kinda wearable MonsterMac Designs.
Nike Air Mag “Elite” Custom by @KickassoKustoms
The stigma of customizing a high dollar after market sneaker went out the door sometime last year starting with customized Yeezy IIs and a pair of these same Nike Air Mags. Sneakerheads that will never get these shoes are probably crying “Why ruin a classic wah wah wah!” But a driving factor of customs is that they aren’t meant for everyone, and often times they are designed for one person. But surely this Air Mag by Kickasso Kustoms modeled after the “Elite” concept used on Nike’s premier basketball models would fly off the shelves in 2015 self-lacing or not.
Air Jordan V Summer Love III Collection Customs by @EcentrikShoeArt
What DOES love got to do with it? Everything, right? The theme of love, summer love that is, comes back around again from Ecentrik Artistry for 2013. Previous Summer Love collection of custom sneakers from EA were on Nike models like Air Force 1s and Air Max 90s. This time the oh so popular Air Jordan V catches the love bug. Using two recent retros of the AJ V in white/black/red and “Grape” Ecentrik created a whole new look for the shoe.