What I saw left me confused? I thought straight away....Adidas Stan Smith (or even Nike Classic). So it got me thinking, have Alife/barneys been inspired by a truly great shoe in the Stan Smith or are they biting the head off a very popular shoe from Europe. From my knowledge I don't think the Stan Smith saw as much popularity in the US as it did here. Adidas went crazy with re-release after re-release a few years ago, i'm sure you can still rock up to any JD-Sports/Size/Footlocker and see a good few colourways of the Stan Smith.
Its not the first time this has happened Alife/Barneys released 'The Chaser' last year which again was too similar to the New Balance 576's. Alife werent the first and probably wont be the last brand to flirt between 'inspired' and 'biting'. Take most of the Bathing Ape shoe collection for example or even Billionaire Boys Club.
What I'm trying to get at is these questions...Is it okay for a brand like Alife to release a carbon copy silhouette? Am I entitled to feel disappointed? Because the fact is Alife will clean up with these shoes, people will cue for these and re-sell prices will no doubt be extortionate. Its not like Alife never get it right...the 'Everybody Mid' is a personal favorite.
14 comments:
you are allowed to feel dissapointed ollie...I think alife have been lazy in a way...Im all for a clean simple look..but these are neither clean or busy..there just....vile??
instead of spending the contents of your isa...just go down to sports world and cop a pair of stan smiths.
after looking at what vans are going to be dropping in the near future...i think alife need to step it up a gear.
Straight bitten.
As you say snkrfrkr's / sneakerhead's alike etc will snap this shit up - merely for the logo on the tongue. Regardless, they look poor.
Not considering any of the performance attributes.
Being a table tennis player myself... I've rocked smith's onto the court and can fairly say that ergonomically they're sound. I wouldn't bet on the same for the Alife's.
10 years ago such a counterfeit would've been placed in the same league as Hike , Peabok and Mercury...I've forgotten the bait back in the day market crepz ha.
I feel you, son -- I've been going to ALIFE for a MINUTE and I know all the staff there -- I've been checkin their own branded shit everytime I go inside.
I can honestly tell you that I'm only copping AlIFE x " " collaborations though, I've never really felt the burning desire to buy an ALIFE branded shoe. I always felt that they were too generic, too whatever --
I'm not sure if everyone knows how ALIFE is set up but...there's two (technically 3) stores next to each other, both need to be buzzed in. ALIFE on the left is the store that sells all of your ill ALIFE T's, ALIFE shoes, ALIFE snowboards and KRINK markers. To the right, is Alife Rivington Club -- with some of the hottest and rarest sneakers in the city, and A.R.C. edition clothing(Now, they have Alife Sportswear across the street).
Back to the shoes, they're a silhouette of the StanSmiths as you said, and people are recognizing that everywhere...but check the rest of the ALIFE branded shoes, yo. Always a familiar silhouette, but ALIFE label here, and special colorway/material there. I think that's their thing with their sector, they take what they like from iconic shoes and modify a little bit. But I'm not sure 'biting' is the word -- Because that's what posers do, that's what lame brands do. Has it got to a point where ALIFE is whack? Or are we just getting to be sneaker snobs?
I think it's gotten to a point where sneaker design has become so accessible where everybody is 'biting' or grabbing inspiration from everybody else. There are so many similarities within certain shoes in between different brands it's ridiculous.
Would you not rock these on a Saturday night? I would.
I do actually like these colorways, they're really chaotic with the scratchy-print, and the ALIFE box logo is a clean finish on the tongue. The gold ones are pretty slick. I'd probably have to switch the laces out with my Stark Checker print 'LV' laces, but I think it's a decent shoe.
Now I hear the argument of buying a pair of regular StanSmiths, but then again, why would you give a shit about paying more for a special Dunk, Force, Jordan, or whatever colorway when you can just grab a regular pair? Don't forget that that shoe comes from a brand that brought us some of the hottest shit on the street, and that's why I'm paying money for em.
Now for the matter of me going to Barneys and copping, would I go that far? No. I don't think they deserve to be on that level, I'm perfectly fine copping them at 158 Rivington, but I'm not making my way to Barneys and asking some dick in a suit for a size 13.
Ha Mr.Au i think you've made valid points throughout your essay.
The fact that all these brands take bits from iconic shoes to inspire their own doesnt mean they are off the hook. I dont see them paying homage in there advertising or promotion. Why not have your own iconic shoe? There are hundreds of silhouettes out there that have been forgotten or didnt make the grade. Why not delve deep and try and get close to originality instead of doing it the easy way and stealing from already popular shapes.
I'm yet to visit the store but from all accounts the boys have got a decent set up over there.
Gents have you not misssed the point here, Alife operate in "Neiche" market, and have a captive auidence,
What in fact they have done is capatilsed on there competive market advantage, which is what in fact we are talking about now.
A life have took a standard trainer design, but then applied a twist to the product,
This twist will sell the product,(as ollie said) but has also caused a stir in the market, which we know as "free Publicity"
Dwain please use grammar and spell check in future..
alife....bapestas...it is just straight bitin covered up by the well used ' homage / inspired by a classic' move...treading water i call it...alife has such a history and network of good heads that its shit that they arent pushing things forward design wise...ok they flip the materials (tennis ball shoes), but they should be making they own classic designs for the future, not just doing something so...so..forgetful
Stan Smiths are actually standard prison kicks in America so, yes, they are popular there.
Like 99% of Alife kicks these are straight up sharked and fucking awful.
Only good kicks Alife have done to date are the soda pop Everybody highs and, i gotta admit, they were one of my fav' kicks to drop last year.
wow those are gash. i can safely say none of my snkrfrkr breadren will be copping any of those.
alife need to stop with the terrible collabs(those ers's are still in abundance at size?) and concentrate more on their pocket tee's.
all of the comments above make for a very insightful and interesting read. Thanks guys!! Keep the sneaker debate's going!
people don't queue for alifes and the price doesnt get jacked on resale...
if these trainers didnt have ALIFE on the tongue nicely printed or breathing holes on the side saying ALIFE and they were adidas re-inventing the stan smith they wouldent be on this site and you wouldent really give them a second look.
if you usually flex stan smiths then maybe you would?
thats my opinion.
hows about you all get a life and a job u pricks
^ I was wondering when one of these cunts would pop up. That was a sick cuss man. I bet you hurt everyone's feelings.
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