Published
Thu, Jul 14, 2005, 00:26
- Breakbeat maestro Adam Freeland has teamed up with Skateshoe Company Etnies to design the Marine Parade “Ethic” shoe.
Breakbeat maestro Adam Freeland has teamed up with Skateshoe Company Etnies to design the Marine Parade “Ethic” shoe. The shoe is manufactured in…you guessed it… ethical work conditions. Although the shoe is fairly simple in its design, it is a project that Adam has worked on for roughly two years.
The shoe initially had some elaborate designs but Adam and Etnies decided to go back to a plain white classic style of sneaker (with Fat laces of course). The shoe includes a “skate-tongue”(a tongue that is roughly three times the thickness of conventional tongues, an evolution of a method by which skateboarders stuffed tongues into their shoes for protection and style).
The Marine Parade logo, as used by Freeland on his record label of the same name, is embossed on the side of the shoe, embroidered on the upper back of the shoe and printed onto the translucent insole. Only 50 pairs of these sneakers, personally signed by Adam Freeland, will be available for purchase from the Marine Parade website.
The idea of a signature shoe was first conceived in 1935 when Converse released a signature shoe for Badminton/Tennis champion Jack Purcell. That shoe went on to become a stable for young “bad boys” in Hollywood and remained famous even though Jack Purcell himself faded into history. However signature shoes did not become world famous until 1985, the year Nike released a shoe for a certain young basketball star by the name of Michael Jordan.
The cult of sneakers has taken on a previously unimaginable status where some shoes on EBay and collector’s websites are priced at US$1000 +. Could Adam’s shoes fetch those amounts? Time will tell.
Could the “Ethic” shoe mark the beginning of signature shoes for DJs or Producers? DJ culture and sneakers are inseparable. DJs such as Dave Seaman are rumoured to have a vast collection of rare sneakers. Sasha is also known for his vast collection of Adidas while John Digweed is often seen sporting a pair of solid black shelltoes. Could these artists have their own shoes on the horizon?
The idea of Sneakers for DJs doesn’t seem too far fetched as Adidas has proved with its recently released 35th anniversary edition of signature Superstar shoes including classic groups such as Run-DMC all the way to cult electronic group Underworld.
Got a sneaker fetish? Check out the Marine Parade website for details on how you can snap up one of the 50 pairs of Adam Freeland’s “Ethic” trainers.