Here’s a Nike shoe I’ve never seen before. Whilst browsing the eBay for “Eric Koston” shoes I came across a load of hip skate shoes. A lot of them were from his Es and Osiris period, however there were a few I’d never seen before. Below I have chosen a few cool ones that I came across and yes, they are in fact for sale. What a wonderful world we live in.
I have put the links to buy them after each description but depending on when you read this article, they may have unfortunately sold out.
- The Nike Air Zoom E-Cue
These are a pair I have never seen before in all my years of browsing. It’s always an enjoyable moment when you come across a pair that are completely alien to you. I do think they’re an interesting looking shoe, reminding me of my Air Rejuven8 pair I wrote about in an earlier blog. The upper is comparable to the Nike Air Kukini’s with its melded rubber cage upper and mesh underneath. These were a far cry from your usual skate shoes that were releasing back in 2004, mainly because they were not being predominantly made up of a canvas upper. Yet the rubber-cage would have been able to withstand a lot of wear. The zoom units themselves are not located in the midsole like you would expect, but in fact embedded in the in-soles themselves. This was a useful feature because given that Zoom units do in fact pop after time, you as the customer would have been able to purchase another pair of insoles and the cushioning system would literally have been good-as-new. Another shoe that uses the cushioning technology in the in-sole rather than the midsole was the Nike Air Vis Propensity, which did in fact place the air unit itself (crazy right) in the in-sole, with a little viewing window at the bottom of the shoe.
I would not be surprised if the Kobe 6s took some inspiration from the Air Zoom E-Cue. Just to double check my intuition, I Googled who designed both shoes and in fact, it WAS the same designer! Eric Avar was responsible for designing the Kobe 6 in 2011 and the Nike Air Zoom E-Cue back in 2003/04. Not only was the silhouette very closely related but the idea of a heavily textured upper was too much of a coincidence. The use of Zoom technology in both shoes also confirmed my suspicions.
2. Poynter Skate Shoes
I have never heard of this Skate brand before, let alone seen this model. I am a fan though, from the Air Max 95 lacing system, the mudguard, and the gradient colourway, what’s not to like? The Midsole is a little questionable as it doesn’t look entirely functional for the activity it is built for. The narrow heel on the back does not bode well for landing on and looks a bit unstable. I see hints to the Adidas Training PT with the circular design integrated into the midsole. This particular gradient colourway reminds me of the rare Air Max BW/TN hybrid you occasionally see pop up on your Instagram feed from a real Nike Head.
3. Aeon Skate Shoes
I believe I may have come across this brand before, but I am not totally sure. Maybe I’m just getting confused with the saying “Eons Ago”. Who knows? I have definitely not seen these pair before though. I see influences from Osiris D3 in the vent like circles you can find on the mudguard and toe box. The little strap and top eyelet holder is also quite a cool feature. I’m unsure if these are pre-Nike Flywire so could have had a part in influencing that. I question the overall practicality of this feature, as in this case it does look a little gimmicky. How much extra pull or tightness around the upper can you really gain from one eyelet after all? The biggest comparison and first shoe that sprung to mind upon seeing this was the Jordan 14. Those ridges upon the white panel really draw closely on the iconic side profile of the 14. Overall, I’m not too enticed by the colourway, but I could 100% see myself rocking a pair of these. Some baggy denim or cargos sitting on top of pair like this would do very nicely.
4. Savier Staba Skate Shoes
The heel tab branding looks very similar to the Satta logo but apart from that nothing really sprung to mind at first. An interesting shoe to say the least, but I’m not sure that these would get much wear out of me. After a while I finally started seeing what era it was being inspired by. The eBay seller states that he thinks these came about in 2001 which would make a whole lot of sense. The chunky low top feel of this shoe initially reminded me of the Jordan 15. However, it was more closely linked to the designs of the Jordan 16 and 17. That use of hard plastic to create a techy component feel to this shoe was a large design movement in the early 2000s. You can see this throughout a lot of footwear at the time. The start of the new millennium had every designer focusing on “the future” and their take on whatever that would be. Another shoe that uses that tries to reach for that forward thinking feel was the Adidas Kobe 2. That was my best comparison I came up with and a very apt one at that in my opinion.
Check out this solid read on the History of Skate Shoes by Sneaker Freaker.
wear shoes, write poems 