Y-3 Lancer S/S 08

First up is one of my favorite labels, Y-3. Y-3 is the collaboration between avant-garde Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto & sportswear giant Adidas. Started in 2003, this is probably one of the most successful (& longest) collab between a fashion designer & a sportswear brand. Make no mistake, this is high fashion. Even harder to find than your typical high-end designer labels. Some of Yohji's unique approach to the line include creating high fashion that incorporates Adidas' famous 3-stripe logo. Suit jackets, denims, long sleeve button shirts, skirts, scarfs bearing the Adidas 3-stripes somewhere on it in an assymetrical way are but a few examples. When it comes down to it, the line is basically making sportswear into high-end fashion wear. Unfortunately, the truth is that you are paying high-end prices for clothes & shoes made in China. It isn't uncommon to find a pair of cotton track pants for $300.

Anyways, onto the shoes. This shoe is amazing to me. The way it's constructed & designed. At quick glance, it looks like an ordinary Adidas shoe. In taking a closer look, see you the details & special construction. Black leather with parts of shiny krinkled leather (doesn't feel like patent) as well as smooth shiny leather in the rear portion. Toe cap is glossy vinyl. Rounded rectangluar eyelets. Layered leather midsole. 80% of the bottom is sticky Y-3 embossed rubber with the remaining 20% of the toe area stitched with (yet again) leather with "Y-3" branded on there.