Why Birkenstock Turned Down Vetements And Supreme

Posted by & filed under Fashion.

Birkenstocks. The staple of any Subang college kid, senior citizens, and our Editor. Very much commonplace in these age groups, you have never seen a Birkenstock ad ever, but you’ll still know of its existence through word of mouth, so imagine our surprise when we saw Birkenstock headlining media sites, more so with a hypebeast baiting one after the footwear company turned down collaborations with not only Vetements, but Supreme as well.

Speaking in an interview with The Cut, advisor Oliver Reichert stated his reason for the turn down was that the factory did not need any extra demand in the factory, having a still incomplete order of 2 million pairs waiting to be finished and serves no purpose to position themselves as another classic brand ‘roided into the hype trend. Reichert knows where his company is situated, and Birkenstock’s customers already know and wear Birkenstocks on the daily anyway, so it nullifies any reason to perform a collaboration.

Demna Gvasalia, Vetements Creative Director

“There’s no benefit for us except prostitution,” says Reichert. “Because this is just prostitution.” Apparently both Supreme and Vetements wanted to slap their logos onto the shoe, prompting the very no-filter Reichert to speak his mind. Demna Gvasalia, a bit appalled, spoke to The Cut that he wanted to work with Birkenstock because their shoes were very comfortable. After much consideration (and subsequent arguments with the marketing department), restarted discussions on how to move forward on these premises.

But wait, what about the Rick Owens’ collab I hear you say?

Rick Owens’s Collaborative Effort With Birkenstock

Reichert says that his partnership with the esteemed designer was more than just slapping a logo on their product, but a challenge. Seeing as Owens reworked the Arizona sandal to include fuzzy grey calf hair, complete with fringed straps, presented something different for the factory. “The form and the content matches. With most of the big designers, there’s a form but little content,” says Reichert.

While Reichert has moved forward and restarted discussions, admitting that maybe there is a light that he has yet to see with future collaborations, one can only wonder what could have been had the man moved forward with said partnerships. Would you cop the ones below?

 

 

How To Prevent Yourself From Getting Scammed

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

As our streetwear scene grows, we see new players cutting their teeth into the foray, slowly building their collection bit by bit. However, some enter this game with bad intentions of earning a profit by scamming others which is definitely the wrong way to go about doing business. As they say, prevention is better than cure, so we’re here to look out for you and your hard-earned money. Here are three golden practices that you should take note before proceeding with your transaction and losing a big chunk of that dough.

Background Check

You see a steal, so you try to act fast before someone else takes the cop of the year away from you, but by the time the euphoria settles down, you could have already been scammed or if said in a nicer way, doing ‘charity’. We’re not saying every steal on the marketplace is a scam but it runs the risk of being one based on the simple fact that if it’s too good to be true, it usually is. Before you proceed with a deal, always check the reseller’s account before agreeing to commit to the deal.

Check out for his/her amount of friends, photos and whether they have been active on their profile. If he has around under 100 friends, it’s a high chance he’s a scammer. Profiles with only a few photos uploaded are red flags so be cautious and look out for other signs that would tell they are active on their account. Another way to ensure he’s a legit seller is to have a ‘legit check’ on him/her in your respective groups. The community is friendly, and will more often than not assist you in verifying the seller, but you should still be cautious as some scammers may have a few accounts, or will ask their friends to help provide fake feedback about their legitimacy just to make sure the scam happens.

Knowledge

A scam may include receiving fakes (due to lack of knowledge to legit check) or items which are not as described by sellers. This is where knowledge is proven to be king where you are able to check the legitimacy of any item you’re keen to purchase. The replicas produced by China factories are improving day by day, and some even managed to produce pairs that look exactly like a real pair and can only be proven a fake if compared with a retail pair side by side. The sneakers that China factories are replicating usually consist of the most expensive ones in the market as people are not willing to pay exorbitant prices, and would rather purchase an alternative which only cost a fraction of what it’s being sold for in the secondary market. Since you’re reading this, avoid any sellers who use terms such as unauthorized (UA), original copy, Godkiller, 1:1, AAA, and more. If you come across pages who offer full-size runs (FSR) for hype sneakers at a rather steal price or below retail (Google the shoe and find out its retail price), avoid at all cost as it is most likely a scam whether or not you receive your sneakers.

You might want to spend some time on Youtube or sneaker forums to gather some knowledge by watching real versus fake comparison videos, shoe reviews, collecting pointers from other people in the scene on what to look out for, keeping up with the fake pairs currently available, and more to list. The ignorant are the losers in this case, so start gathering your knowledge before you start flexing fake products.

Method Of Payment & Reputation

In Malaysia, we usually use bank transfer to purchase a product which could be risky, as the seller could and most probably will instantly block you after receiving your money, without so much as a trace and no signs of getting your cash back. We highly suggest using Cash On Delivery (COD) method so that you may inspect your products whether it’s real or in the condition which was shown beforehand before passing the seller an enormous amount of money. For overseas transactions, do keep in mind that Paypal is your best bet as they usually protect the buyers more than sellers, with one condition, that you pay that extra 4.5% invoice fee as insurance in case anything goes wrong (fake products, wrong item, condition not as described). Sometimes, we are left with no choice but to trust a seller to post out your purchased items after transferring money into their bank accounts. Before you proceed, ask your peers in the scene if they have heard, come across the seller or even dealt with them before just to be sure.

Post a ‘legit check’ post about the seller if you need to and do not feel bad about it because it is your right to feel confident to commit to a deal if you’re going to transfer them a large amount of money. Sellers who have a reputation or have no bad history of transactions are not afraid to be legit-checked as the post will create awareness to other potential customers that they are legitimate and safe to deal with while sellers who are afraid to be legit-checked or tries to guilt trip/pull out from the deal once its mentioned, are red flags as they know once the post is up, they are being indirectly called out which will further tarnish their reputation. It was once a small community, where a callout equates to immediately identifying who the scammer is, and subsequently gets hit with the ban hammer, but that’s no longer the case, as the community grows day by day. Best to take precautions before committing to a transaction especially when sellers start using other reputable sellers name to convince a buyer that their product is legitimate.

For now, these are some of the things that will help you along your journey in the streetwear scene. Keep up with this post as we will continue to update it with pointers to prevent you guys from getting scammed.

The Biggest Yeezy Drop Is Happening Soon In September

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

Kanye is fulfilling his destiny (sort of). Recall the promise he made everyone when he said that Yeezys will be for everyone, and it seems like he’s delivered on his word. The biggest drop of Yeezy 350 V2s is happening in another 27 days, approximately 20th September. The ‘Cream’ colourway is the colour of choice for mass availability.

To be eligible for purchase, users can go to this site here, register your email, and wait for the drop date to arrive. Given the hype surrounding the shoe, we won’t say that it’ll be a challenge to get, it’ll just be significantly easier than the other colourways. Regardless whether you want to beat, customise, or simply just wear every now and then, Ye has you covered, and that’s all you’ll ever need to know.

Picture by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

Not a fan? Jordan Brand is going to debut the Air Jordan 3, clad in Flyknit.

Pestle And Mortar Accused Of Plagiarizing A Graphic Designer’s Artwork

Posted by & filed under Featured.

We begin with defining the word plagiarism. A quick look at Dictionary.com states that it is “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author.” The nature of this then intersects very easily within those in the creative sphere, as brushes among each other’s work is not uncommon. Often, credit is given whenever and artwork is inspired by another designer as a nod and acknowledgement, but this isn’t the case sometimes, exemplified with the current controversy between graphic designer, Haziq Jenal and Pestle & Mortar.

The whole debacle started when Haziq approached CEO and Creative Director of PMC, Hugh Koh, on a potential collaboration in June, with positive reception coming from Hugh, but the collaboration never came to fruition. Haziq then decided to produce his own t-shirts featuring the design a month after that, but coincidentally however, Pestle & Mortar also teased a Merdeka capsule with a t-shirt strikingly similar to the one that Haziq made. Of course, this brings much chagrin as word spread out in the Twitterverse, with several netizens fuming at the brand for plagiarising a young designer’s work.

Pestle & Mortar has since responded to the allegations, releasing a statement that states otherwise, clarifying that the idea to make a Proton Saga t-shirt has been in the works since last year November.

Excerpt from PMC’s official statement

Pestle & Mortar stated that the Saga design has been in the works predating the one designed by Haziq, thus, invalidating any claims of plagiarising. However it may by, a flurry of displeasure soon waved by, resulting from the immediacy and viral nature of instant social media platforms throwing about accusations of who copied who. Which brings us to the another observation, that this isn’t the first time that the Saga was used to be the face of a t-shirt.

Picture by Kerchik San

Preme.KL has produced something similar to this sometime ago, reinforcing the fact that ideas cannot be owned from a legal standpoint as there is no proof or backing to claiming otherwise unless copyrighted. Referring to the Copyright Act of 1987 page 21 under General Provision, “(3) A literary, musical or artistic work shall not be eligible for copyright unless— (a) sufficient effort has been expended to make the work original in character; and (b) the work has been written down, recorded or otherwise reduced to material form.” In this case, it is impossible to copyright said design as it isn’t original in character; the Proton Saga is a national icon after all.

It remains to the subject of interpretation of who is in the right or wrong. Depending on how it is viewed, both angles can be construed to look at either party is at fault, but judging from the outcome, we say neither party is right, or wrong. what do you think readers? Let us know in the comments below.

 

The Air Jordan 3 Gets Rebooted For The Future

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

Drop Date Included

30th anniversary marks a relatively special year for the Air Jordan 3 silhouette, as Jordan Brand looks to adapting the model for the future. Tinker Hatfield’s original design gets a completely new makeover with Flyknit instead of traditional leather, and have gone tho great lengths to replicate textures of the original through a painstaking process.

You see, as Flyknit is practically a one piece design, it isn’t really cost effective nor efficient to mimick different layer types onto the silhouette, hence we see models like the Flyknit Racer and Flyknit trainer, even the new Epic React having a very sleek design. However, in an effort to retain what made the Jordan 3 so appealing, 3 different pattern types were adapted onto the silhouette by using intricate patterns in the knit, accentuating the iconic elephant print, smooth leather and tumbled leather of the original.

The flyknit AJ3 debuts in a stealthy colourway, featuring an all-black upper, gloss midsole, and icy outsole that glows in the dark, finished with a black hangtag. The Jordan brand logo makes itself present on the heel counter, rounding off a silhouette that is definitely ‘more than meets the eye.’ Or if this isn’t in your favour, the Air Jordan 3 Katrina is also getting a restock soon.

The Air Jordan 3 Flyknit will release on Nike.com on the 28th of August, at 9AM for approximately RM 821.

Flyknit ain’t your thing? The Zoomfly SPs are your best alternative for cutting edge tech.

Adidas’ NMD Solar Hus Are Still Sitting In Stores

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

And Online

We all had a hunch that Pharrell William’s latest rendition of the Human Race NMD would be slow moving, but not this lethargic. At the time of writing, we scouted out Isetan The Japan Store to hunt for some Y-3 Kaiwas, and stumbled upon the whole Solarhu pack, sitting pretty on the display table.

It is a bit odd however, as previous iterations of the Hu NMD fetch a ridiculously high price, with the original line up of solid colours going for at least RM 4000 per pair, with the special F&F colourway packing about RM 40,000 worth of value approximately. Adidas Originals stores too still have them on shelves, as well as major online retailers all around the globe. Several readers reported that a full size run is still available in Adidas Czechoslovakia, which speaks about the hype of the shoe, or lack-there-of.

Adidas NMD Human Race ‘Friends and Family’

Regardless, the Hu NMD is still a very comfortable shoe, comprised of a one piece Primeknit upper, Boost midsole, EVA plugs, as well as wraparound laces. The outsole is now thicker and can sustain a bit more wear, thanks to a trail-inspired tread pattern instead of the normal flat design that is usually employed on NMDs. The Solarhu pack retails for around RM 1050 with the Tennis Hu versions going for RM 650.

In other Boost related items, Adidas may be restocking the UltraBoost V1s.

‘Bangun’ To Aman Ra’s Call For The Masses

Posted by & filed under Music.

Written By Zaaim Hariz

“Dulu asyik asyik mengadu, kata aku tak ada apa, selagi aku bernyawa, aku rasa aku berharta”

“Hari hari aku bersyukur ya rabbi, hidup sehari lagi untuk cuba lagi” – Aman Ra

BUDAK FLAT, BANGUN! Aman Ra is here to bring us back to his roots with his new music video for ‘Bangun’. Fresh off from the release of his highly anticipated debut album titled ‘Rebel’, this talented Budak Flat, born and raised in Dato’ Keramat is showing the world how the other side of Kuala Lumpur has whatever it takes to be whatever it wants.

The music video speaks for itself, as he gathers the lads and ladies to show the pride of their kampung. He also laments about how his life growing up hasn’t always been easy, but he strived to be the best of himself while he hustle demi hasil to the top of the Malaysian hip-hop scene. After numbers of successful singles off the album, ‘Bangun’ has showed signs that Aman Ra will not ever slow down.

The Borak Borak Sessions: Kavin Jay

Posted by & filed under Entertainment, Featured.

“My parents still think I do this as a hobby” – Kavin Jay. A naturally funny and charismatic character, the comedian details his life in this line of work, from not knowing that he was getting a Netflix special, the state of comedy here in Malaysia, and its under-representation amongst the wider masses.

There May Be A Massive Restock Of The V1.0 Ultraboosts

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

The Multicolour 2.0s were just a teaser

Rumours are a dangerous thing. It builds hype on unstable ground, then crashes when all of it is unfounded. So you can imagine how we wet our pants a little bit when Adidas started slowly releasing OG colourways of the only acceptable versions of the Ultraboost silhouette: the V1.0 and V2.0.

Recently, Adidas Malaysia had a secret restock of the Multicolour V2.0, and were practically sitting for retail, at RM 799. Needless to say when word got out, the nostalgia fever swept through the online shelves.

Now though, leaker @py_rates has announced that another 3 variations will be dropping, one of which is the highly coveted ‘Cream’ Ultraboost, which sits pretty high up on the list of Ultraboost grails. Original multicolour variations are also slated to be re-released, both in white and navy colourways. Looking through the pictures, one distinct difference defines the rerelease and the actual OG pair. Upon closer inspection, we can see that V4 insoles are used instead of the original V1 types, but apart from that, everything else looks exactly the same.

Given the direction Adidas is taking with unleashing its archive colours, we could potentially be seeing the return of the ‘Burgundy,’ ‘Olive,’ and ‘Wool Grey,’ all in its former glory. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Of course, while these kind of leaks are proven to be fairly reliable at times, we will never know until an actual release date is given, but till then, stay tuned for more info as we update the situation.

Here’s Why We Think The React Element Is Similar To The Nike Roshe

Posted by & filed under Sneakers.

 

Written By Zaaim Hariz

We have seen a variety of sneakers that has successfully saturated the market and went down the drain right after. With the release of Nike React Element 55, the story is bound to go the same curve. Speculating are rife that this new ‘take down’ of the Nike React Element 87 will fall to the same fate. The silhouette of the new take is entirely the same but it comes with a non transparent upper, made off from synthetic materials instead of translucent upper, and it’s $30 (RM120) off, but this is not the first time we’ve seen this marketing tactic before.

Let us look back at a well-known design, now disgraced in the sneaker community, which is the Nike Roshe. When it was first released, the Roshe line has amassed both sneakerheads and general public to cop a pair of their own not only because it’s comfortable, it’s also minimally stylish and importantly, affordable. Which explains its overwhelming popularity in the scene.

Seeing its potential, Nike was able to push for more colour ways out for everyone to cop. So from there, we ask ourselves, where did it all go wrong for the beloved Roshes?

Well there is such thing as too much. Back then, Nike stores will release exclusive and limited colour ways of the Roshes but now, we can’t escape 20 different colourways that were put on display at Sports Direct or Al-Ikhsan. These days, the over produced sneaker line is frowned upon by the sneakerheads and for the Roshes, spelled its own demise. The 2nd iteration in the form of the Roshe Run 2 had figuratively zero traction too, as the hype moved on to another silhouette.

Same story plays out for the Adidas NMD. When they came up with their first iteration of the line, the NMD R1 Primeknit OG rocked the sneaker community by surprise. There was only one colour way available and of course, instantly sold out everywhere. The rise of the NMDs didn’t stop there as collaborations with Pharrell Williams, Bape, Mastermind and many more countless variations came out and changed the landscape of the sneaker game. As compared to the Roshes, this Three Stripes line is still selling relatively well but there are glances that it’ll suffer the same fate as the Roshes. For the moment, we can definitely see it was not hyped as much as it used to be due to general releases, and discounts, even filling up the sales rack at many outlet stores.

From a standpoint, the ‘take down’ version of Nike Element React 87 was marketed at a lower price point, hence casting a wider net, at least that’s what we’re thinking. Do you think that the Nike React Element 55 or the whole Element React line will go down to the same path as the Roshes and NMDs? Let us know your opinion.