Last week’s Sneaker News “Beauty Shots” of the Air Jordan V “Black Grape” was probably the final nail in the coffin in regards to your response to the release. Those who were “on the fence” were likely pushed over with great force into another Saturday sneaker purchase, while those who already considered these a must-have only found the wait tougher to endure. The original Air Jordan V “Grape” – one of the most revered OGs in the entire Air Jordan catalog – was already met with a great response when it re-released one month ago, and we figure the Black Grapes will experience the same simply because it tightly grasps that heralded “Grape” motif while embodying a whole new identity.
Along with long lines outside Nike Free XT the door, broken e-stores and doubled-or-greater resale prices on stores online, one easy way to determine if a collaboration succeeded is whether the partnership persists for later projects. By that measure, French fashion label Kenzo is crushing it with Off the Wall of late, as their sixth set of Vans lowtops makes its first Nike Free Everyday appearance today. Following up on memorable patterns including multicolored snake and stripes, floral, grape, marble and moth designs comes three each Kenzo x Vans Authentics and Slip-Ons, Nike Free Run 5.0 all treated to prints somewhere between rosettes and colorful flowers as inspired by the clouded leopard. As far ahead of the Year of the Snake as they were with last April’s drops, Kenzo pushes even stronger to the top of the pattern charts with these designs combining two of the hottest textures. Click through to see which of these six is your favorite and look for the latest Kenzo x Vans drop next Friday, March 15th at select retailers.