Top Marks: Sydney

As the Head Judge of the skate competition that I featured earlier this week, Barry has been skating since 1978 and with sneakers being so deeply ingrained into the skating culture they have been a huge part of his life.
From a young age he had to learn how to skate using alternate feet as pushing off on the same foot repeatedly would wear through his shoes.
A big fan of high tops, the iconic 2007 Vans Sk8 Hi Hosoi Part 2 kicks he had on have clearly been well worn and well loved for some time and work perfectly with his distinct style.
Unfortunately my time with Barry was cut short as he was called off to judge the last skating heat of the day, but he left me by saying that he has kept every pair of shoes he has ever had.  Now that's what I call a sneaker fan, and if I was judging Barry I would give him (you guessed it)...top marks.

It's Great to be Skate: Sydney

Sydney's Bondi skate park is a mecca for skaters from around the world, and where there are skaters there are kicks!

Here are some shots from a recent event that had sneaker lovers of all shapes and sizes out in force.
Among the crowd was a man who has spent his life devoted to kicks, stick around to see his story later in the week.

Mickey from Manhatten; Sydney

Originally from the Bronx, this sneaker lover went to great lengths to get these Jeremy Scott designed Adidas Originals.  The edgy US designer has designed a few notable shoes for Adidas and the release of these kicks provoked this sneaker lover to queue at the Manhatten Adidas store on the day that they were released.
To make his efforts worthwhile he purchased 2 pairs, as he wears this pair and also keeps another on ice.
The kicks are a revamp of the El Dorado basketball shoe, and Jeremy Scott has combined his trademark of an oversized tongue with a Mickey Mouse colourway to create a very unique kick.
Ironically the owner works for Puma, so I hope if he wears these shoes to work his employers dont think he is taking the Mickey (so sorry, I couldn't resist).

Shoe Frenzy; Sydney

Wearing kicks that he bought yesterday and holding kicks that he bought today, this skater was amidst what he referred to as a 'Sneaker Bender' as he stumped up cash for a couple of great pairs of kicks in quick succession.

The Nike 6.0 Dunk SE kicks that he's wearing and the Vans Chambrey Eras that he'd just picked up both represent a clean, simple and tasteful sneaker that works perfectly with his urban skater-chic style.

Danish Diesel; Sydney

This Danish student has been in Sydney for 6 months, and was due to fly back home some 10 days after these shots were taken.

He has a great effortless style and I really liked the way his portrait turned out. 

His unique purple Diesel kicks were picked up in Denmark after his girlfriend started working for the clothing brand, and have ever since played a key part in his look.

Like many of you who have been emailing me, this sneaker lover was keen to know what I shoot on.  Currently I am shooting with a 50mm 1.4f lens on a Canon 450d but I hope to upgrade this soon to the  7d. 

Sole 2 Sole; Sydney

Vanessa hates having her picture taken, and claims to have been photographed less than 10 times in her life, so I feel very honoured to feature her on the site.

She has a great, edgy and while she has a healthy sneaker collection of 160+ pairs, she spends her days selling shoes.

She has been able to talk her bosses into allowing her to be the only person in the company who doesn't have to wear shoes to work and these colourful, comfy and well loved Adidas kicks provide a reliable shoe to compliment her fantastic style.

All You Need Is Love; Sydney

I have met a few Italian travellers through the site (see here, here and here), and this couple showed a real love for their sneakers.

They told me that their luggage for their trip to Australia was strategically packed to contain as many pairs of sneakers as possible.  Each of them has brought 4 pairs with some Converse and Superga kicks alongside those shown above.

Originally from Milan they truly love their sneakers, and if you need any convincing take a look at the detailing on the black Nikes.

Admiring Glances; Sydney

The Puma 917 is a great shoe that has had an array of design variations since it's launch.  The latest reworking of the shoe is the Atari range, a series of kicks designed to honour classic retro videogames like Mario and Sonic. 

Sophie, the owner of these shoes loves the pixelated look of her 917s, and the fact that the laces look like some kind of fake optical illusion despite being real.

There is no doubt that these are an eye-catching shoe and that's not just my opinion, check out the admirer on the left of the frame.

Not So Common Projects; Sydney

I've mentioned the Sydney clothing store Incu on here before, and when I recently visited the company's Paddington store I found another staff member with a great look.

He told me that he goes to Tokyo once a year with an empty suitcase to stock up on clothes.  While he spends time ahead of each trip researching and planning what to buy, these great Common Projects shoes were an impulse buy.  

Common Projects is a New York brand and their anonymous looking footwear is designed to see each shoe being something of an experiment.  Placed at the high end of mens sneakers, the only detailing on each shoe is the article number, size and colour printed on the shoes heel (which you can just see if you look closely at the bottom picture).

With a clean, crisp style that offers a contemporary take on smart/casual footwear the shoes are a simple but effective component of the owner's look.  

Swap Shop; Sydney

 

Merlin runs the boutique fashion store Love and Luck, and alongside clothing and accessories he stocks some sneakers from the LA brand Supra.
When some new models came into the store Merlin took an instant liking to the NS Studded Skytop shoe he is wearing above.
However, when the shipment came in there were no shoes in his own size (size 12).  Just when he was thinking that his chances of owning a pair had been dashed, by pure coincidence a customer came into the store who told Merlin that his girlfriend had bought him a pair of these shoes that were a size too big.  Yes, you guessed it, his shoes were in a size 12.
Merlin was able to swap the customer's shoes for a size 11 from his stock, and he is now the happy owner of a pair of the shoes that fit him, and work perfectly with his edgy rock look.

Cheesy Feet; Sydney

Spotted in Sydney, this sneaker lover is originally from Reggiano in Italy which he informed me is the home of Parmesan cheese.

He is currently travelling around the world, and to cope with the varied countries that he will be visiting these Nike 6.0 Oncore kicks had been specially chosen due to their comfort and versatility.

Purchased in Italy, these well worn and well loved sneakers have been an ideal companion for this epic global trek and were in for a tough test after Australia as the next stop was the Arabian heat of Morocco. 

Plain Sale-ing; Sydney

When the sales season hits there is nothing to get the excitement levels soaring like finding some hidden bargains at knockdown prices.
In the above images Tamika is proudly wearing a couple of great finds from a weekend shopping trip, these new jeans and new Lacoste kicks, both of which were picked up at half price.
As if the knockdown price wasn't enough cause for some excitement, Tamika has never had a pair of leisure/lifestyle kicks like these before, and loves the clean design and colouring of her new versatile footwear.
* The apple she is eating was a non-sale item.
** I have been reliably informed by Tamika that the apple is a red delicious from Bathurst in NSW.

Dr 3 Stripe; Sydney

In terms of interesting career combinations, I don't think I've ever met any part-time Doctors/Cruise Liner Barmen before.

To fund his ongoing medical studies this sneaker lover has been working part time on cruise liners in Sydney so has been able to wear sneakers often, but now with his medical studies getting more advanced he is spending more time in hospitals and is getting less time to wear his kicks.

I spotted him one Sunday as he walked around the Bondi Markets in Sydney while he was enjoying his great Adidas Forum mids that he picked up a couple of years ago.

I really like the use of slim jeans with the chunky Forum's which are a shoe that I have liked for some time, and these kicks show the shoe in the best colourway that I have seen.

Sydney Footwear Candids 13

FiftyFifty; Sydney

I am always interested to see new and exciting projects coming out of Australia, and I was recently introduced to a new Sydney blog called Fifty Fifty that you might like.

Rose and Madeleine source content from Australia and around the world and showcase interesting innovations in anything and everything from Fashion, Style, Design to Independent film-making.

Enjoy.