If you’re in Covent Garden this month then
don’t miss Javari’s exhibition on ‘Sneaking Into Fashion’.
The exhibition ‘Tracks the Trainers’ Journey Through Popular Culture’ shows the sneaker in all its fashionable glory ranging from the classic comfortable styles to the more outrageous and not so practical designs.
Old
Timers
The oldest sneaker on show are the Ked Champion
shoes (1917) which are said to be the world’s first sneaker, earning the
nickname due to their rubber soles being so quiet that you could sneak up on
someone. Looking quite conservative in an
all white canvas upper.
Pop
Art
(POW sneaker)
Not taking life too seriously are the
playful Pop Art sneakers: the wide toothy
grin on the heel of Peter Max for Randy (1969), the yellow Converse School bus
sneaker (1988) and wowing us with a ‘POW’ is Pierre Hardy’s Powerama sneaker
which was inspired by the 1960’s pop artist Roy Lichenstein.
(Be and D)
Does my foot look
big in this? The Be and D Big City Sneakers SS12 gives the humorous illusion of
the flat boot as a glamorous pink stiletto – very slimming indeed.
Celebrities
(JAYZ’s Supra Muska)
From Pop Art to Pop Stars the sneaker has a
large fan base: JAYZ’s Supra Muska
Skytops Goldsilver (2007) designed by pro-skateboarder Chad Muska was worn by
Jay-Z in Rhianna’s Umbrella video, Beyonce’s
heeled Isabel Marants and spicing up the trainer’s history is the high Buffalo
Wedge trainers (1998) worn by Mel B at the Brit Awards.
Designers
(Vivienne Westwood Tracey)
For lovers of the classic fashion brands there
is the white Gucci tennis trainer of SS1980 posing with its green / red / green signature
web. This was the first luxury designer functional sports shoe. Instantly recognisable by its colourful
stripes is the Missoni X Converse SS11.
Vivienne Westwood’s Tracey heeled sneaker (2003) caused a bit of a stir with Adidas due to the three coloured stripes on the side similar to their signature look and later had a fourth diagonal stripe added across them.
Outrageous
The more outrageous designs include the
Nike Pigeon (2010) by Print Club and The Jaws of Chance 2010 courtesy of
Cristina Gutian. Nike Pigeon was produced to highlight the demise of Pigeon
Racing. The more disturbing Jaws of Chance
with its mini pair of antlers, fur and hoof represents the speed and strength
of a young deer mixed with bittersweet memories of an entire life.
Sculptural
Art
(Jeffrey Campbell)
Looking sculptural is the heel-less wedge Ascension
sneaker (2012) by footwear designer Jeffrey Campbell. Campbell aims to capture
the essence of streetwear with vintage and catwalk style.
Puma X Hussein Chalayan Urban Swifts SS13 shows the speed at which we travel through our breakneck modern lives by using 3D latex mounds on the heel making the shoe look stretched and distorted through speed.
(chewing gum)
Footwear artist
Kobi Levi is renowned for creating art in his collections. The Chewing Gum
heels shoe (2012) captures the unfortunate moment of when you step into some
chewing gum. Here he has made the stretched piece of chewing gum to form the
high heel of the shoe.
Gold
And last but
definitely not least is the Nike Zoom Victory Elite Spikes Volt Collection which
won two Olympic gold medals this year with a little help from Mo Farah. The high
tensil strength Nike Flywire cables wrap around and under the foot to provide a
personalised fit.
Jaravi Sneaks Into
Fashion: 18-28 October in Covent Garden Piazza. For more information go to www.javari.co.uk/exhibition
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