On Sunday, the Crepe City Festival will take place for the first time in the Festsaal Kreuzberg. The founder shows us which exhibits are particularly rare – one costs 75,000 euros.
Manuel Almeida Vergara
Not without my sneakers: visitors at the Crepe City Festival in London.Fever
The artistic fashion designs of the Japanese avant-garde perhaps? Or Belgian deconstructivism? Nope, said the former head of German Vogue, Christiane Arp, once. The biggest change in fashion that she has witnessed in 30 years of professional experience was the development of the sneaker into the ubiquitous people’s shoe. Because the sneaker has had a lasting effect on people’s agility, because it has changed how they move.
“I see it similarly,” says Ronal Raichura, “sneakers have also turned out to be a great medium for experimenting with design.” A few years ago, Raichura founded the Crepe City Festival, after many editions in London the now largest sneaker festival is coming. Show of Europe on Sunday to Berlin. And indeed, as the event will show, the sneaker has long since outgrown its status as a purely functional shoe.
Large sports brands are increasingly cooperating with elegant luxury labels; in the meantime, the sneaker itself has appeared in the haute couture collections of Chanel and Dior. At the same time, it remains extremely popular with the foot soldiers, even away from the Parisian posh brands. With jeans, a suit or an evening dress – these days, the sporty models really go with everything.
The range of products presented by more than 100 traders on Sunday in the Kreuzberg festival hall is correspondingly broad. Hundreds of thousands of sneakers, plus a program with talks and shows, food trucks are ready in front of the festival hall: In order to be able to find your way around this offer better, we asked Ronal Raichura to present the five rarest sneakers that will be seen at the Crepe Festival .
Crepe City Festival on Sunday, November 13, from 12 p.m. in the Festsaal Kreuzberg, Am Flutgraben 2, 12435 Berlin. More information and tickets for 10 euros each at www. crepe-city.com
Futuristic and cinematic
Nike Magfarfetch
“Michael J. Fox wasn’t the only star in ‘Back to the Future,'” says Ronal Raichura. “In the second part of the cult film, his character, Marty McFly, traveled back to 2015 in a flashy shoe.” Nike was then clever enough to take on the film material: in 2016, the sports brand released a sneaker that corresponds to the futuristic film shoe. Sneaker designer Tinker Hatfield designed the “Nike MAG”, which has an automatic lacing function and is now one of the rarest sports shoes in the world. “If you want a pair, it’s best to come to the festival on Sunday,” says Raichura, the “Nike MAG” should be there. However, the shoe is currently available online for around 75,000 euros. Uff.
Casual with luxury logo
Nike x Louis Vuitton Air Force 11stdibs
The designer Virgil Abloh, who died last year, was a guarantee for extremely successful designs: for his own brand Off-White, for the Louis Vuitton label and within numerous cooperations. The sneaker featured here, dubbed the somewhat long-winded “Nike x Louis Vuitton Air Force 1 by Virgil Abloh,” is the first Air Force model “made outside of a Nike factory,” according to Ronal Raichura. “It’s handcrafted, combining classic cues from streetwear icon ‘Air Force 1’ with Vuitton’s materials and patterns.” Each pair is sold in a luxury brand’s orange suitcase. The shoe is supposed to be available at the festival – whether the pretty packaging is still there remains to be seen.
Orange and online affine
New Balance 1500er CT3thenextsole
In the streetwear sector in particular, there are many examples of how an internet format can become a successful fashion company. The Dutch label Daily Paper, for example, which now has shops in London and New York, used to be a private fashion blog. And in Berlin, Zalando recently bought the online magazine Highsnobiety. It’s similar with Crooked Tongues: “It was the largest sneaker forum in Europe before it was expanded to include a shop,” says Ronal Raichura. Since 2005, Crooked Tongues has repeatedly developed successful collaborations. “The ‘New Balance 1500s CT3’ and ‘CT4’ are two of them.” The shoes can still be found online at relatively moderate prices – at 180 euros.
Striking like Michael
Nike Air Jordan 1 Off-White ChicagoNike
Like the Nike-Vuitton hybrid mentioned above, this shoe was also developed under the aegis of the famous Virgil Abloh. “No wonder the ‘Nike Air Jordan 1 Off-White Chicago’ released in 2017 is such a hype,” says Ronal Raichura. “It has a half-finished look with noticeable blue stitching,” so it looks like it’s not really finished production yet. “The colorway of the sneaker is the famous Chicago colorway worn by basketball legend Michael Jordan before he was unable to play for six months due to an injury.” Those interested in the shoe could attend the festival got a little heartbeat, however: because at least online the shoe is not offered for less than 10,000 euros.
Artistic and comical
Nike Air Max 1 Parra friends & familyStockX
Piet Parra is known for his colourful, comic-like illustrations. It goes without saying that a sneaker that the Dutch artist worked on also had a slightly infantile character. Together with Nike, he brought out the “Parra x Air Max 1 Friends & Family”, which is particularly striking because the “Swoosh”, i.e. the trademark of the Nike label, is not emblazoned on the side of the shoe as it is usually the case. “Instead, the extremely limited edition features Parra’s signature on the forefoot,” says Raichura. “Without the big Swoosh, his illustrations stand out better.” This shoe is a true rarity: it’s hard to find online anymore, but at his festival, says Raichura.