When I first set eyes on the adidas ZX 8000 2009 in a special colorway for the Boston Marathon, I was instantly hooked. The combination bold colorway (yeh I’m starting to see a self-return to colorful/HB-esque shoes) and the revamping of my favorite adidas running silhouette the ZX 8000 made for something high on the list of top shoes early into 2009. I usually don’t like to post freebies/gifts and shit like that unless there’s something worthy to back-up the product and these definitely fit the bill. It sort of got me wanting to touch upon the whole standardization of hybrid shoes in the current performance/lifestyle marketplace. I remember the mostly unfavorable reactions garnered by the likes of the Dub Zero from the Jordan Brand a few years back and most new hybrid drops have gotten their fair share of shit. But eventually I knew that as a touchy subject to so-called “sneaker enthusiasts”, they would either A. Come to be de-sensitized and change their thoughts on the concept or B. Designers would fine the right balance for the perfect hybrid equation. There is no definitive winner or answer in what has changed, it is arguably a bit of A and B. I must say that for me personally, the latest hybrid movement in recent memory has been quite well planned especially with Nike’s focus on perhaps the greatest Air Max style of all time, the AM90.
My favorite athletic-based shoe in recent times (which I think may be superseded by these ZX 8000 2009s) was the Air Max 90 Current Moire. Shoes such as the Air Max 90 Current and the ZX 8000 2009 are definitely on-point in my opinion cause both design camps managed to maintain the classic looks of a style that has stood the test of time all while bringing to the table innovation. It’s sort of like Classic Rock music, so many years down the line, it’s still in rotation (or wait am I the only one that listen’s Journey, Foreigner and Heart?).
The aesthetics of classics are an interesting one. Classics is so subjective. I’ve always felt that contemporay performance shoes need a bit of an incubation and a marination period before they can make the crossover out of their time-determined role as an athletic offering. I’ve always had trouble wearing ultra-technical sneakers (be it performance ball or running shoes) with a pair of denim. The new Nike Air Max 2009 no doubt falls in that category for me. But with hybrids, you can sort of borrow that timeless look, bring it to modernity via relevant performance enhancements and maybe even change it up a bit with an assesement of current trends (the ZX 8000 is defintely slimmer but perhaps has to do more with performance). You have a shoe that performs and looks real solid as well.
What I agree less upon are hybrids that go about mashing up styles that transcend different time periods and genres. The framework for the Air Max signature series has largely been set and with it, you do have the room to work and wiggle. Ultimately the shoes do share the same DNA making any changes not entirely out of left-field and most importantly somewhat connected throughout the design of the shoe. When you go referencing things from different time periods, basketball vs. running vs. tennis vs. mountaineering etc, I think the waters become murky in a hurry, but I’ll take a few steps back and cover my ass by saying that ultimately the conventions can be broken and done so in a cohesive manner.
gait (foot motion) whereas something like the Air Max signature series throughout the years has been ideal mostly for neutral runners.
HUGE shout-out to Kevin K. over at The 3 Stripes for the hook-up, definitely made my Easter. Shoes are just as sick as the initial images and I wore them out for the first time today.
Twitter | flickr)
