Sneakers Available at Shop412

If you are a sneakerhead in the Pittsburgh area there is one destination you should travel to, Shop412. The lifestyle apparel brand and streetwear boutique curates a collection that draws on the city's proud sport history paired with active and causal-wear. In-house creations like 412's last collaboration with '47 Brand and Black Fives celebrating Pittsburgh's storied Monticello Athletic Association basketball team demonstrates the athletic influences. This characteristic of the shop is further executed in its selection of prime footwear, courtesy of SFOT's Nike Pinnacle account. Essentially this means the brand presents a unique offering of Nike Sportswear consumers are hard pressed to find in the city and across the country. While you should definitely go to 412's location to browse the collection, below speaks on some of what you will find.

First is the Nike Air Tech Challenge III, one of the many original silhouettes Andre Agassi wore during his career. The sneaker's tennis ball green accents match Agassi's past on-court flair that landed him a deal with the Swoosh in the first place. 

Next is the comfier and slimmed down version of Nike's iconic Cortez runner, the Roshe LD-1000 in black. Last week SFOT posted to Instagram a blue colorway of the shoe along with the Roshe Run "Polka Dot" NM pack, hopefully some pairs are still available.

Nike's Air Max 1 Essential "Olympic" hits the store summer appropriate with a bit of nostalgia-- built with mesh overlays and appealing red, white, blue, and gold colors reminiscent of the '92 Barcelona games.

Follow @shop412 on social media to stay attuned to new developments and visit the store to find more staple streetwear pieces like Converse Jack Purcell, tell them we sent you.

420 South 27th St

Pittsburgh, PA 15203

(412) 586-7507

Kendrick Lamar x Reebok Ventilator Promotes Unity

Compton, California native Kendrick Lamar finds his voice commenting on the reality of the African American struggle; when he raps, "N*gga, and we hate po-po/Wanna kill us dead in the street fo sho," it comes from a place of frustration having lived through truthful tragic events in the recent three years. Today, Kendrick sends another message this time standing up against gang culture. Using his Reebok partnership K.Dot's reach is strong as he presents the Kendrick Lamar x Reebok Ventilator. The Paperwhite suede sneaker protests color wars evident from the alternating "BLUE" and "RED" insignias on the heels, contrasted by the "NEUTRAL" tongue tag. Kendrick's signature, Top Dawg Entertainment branding, and a gum outsole completes the shoe. Hopefully the message, along with the footwear, is well received; buy the Kendrick Lamar x Reebok Ventilator now at European Sneaker Baas, and more retailers on July 18 for €130 EUR (approximately $142 USD).

Keep the Marks Off with Jason Markk®

Shoes are meant to be worn and with wear come dirtiness. Some people are under the impression dirt on their shoes adds character to their respective silhouettes; the scuffs, toe-drags, and wine stains from last night all represent a story adding a unique quality to footwear. Other shoe connoisseurs may respect the nostalgic sentiments, but prefer their sneakers and boots to be as fresh as possible each time pulled from the box. For those people enter Jason Markk Premium Shoe Cleaner. Developed in Los Angeles, CA by Jason Markk, Jason Markk® effectively cleans and conditions shoes, no matter the surface material. The purple cleaning solution works like magic once applied with the synthetic bristle brush or premium hog bristle brush and wiped clean. Watch the dark marks on a canvas shoe thanks to last night's concert vanish as the solution lathers, or wipe clean the plimsole on Vans to find pearls. Point is, while household remedies work differently each trial and other products deliver spotty results count on Jason Markk Premium Shoe Cleaner when you need it. If you are in the LA area convenience yourself and utilize the Drop-Off Sneaker Care Service at Markk's flagship store in Little Tokyo so the Technicians have your shoes shining. Explore Jason Markk® and the easy cleaning process here, find before and after pictures on the brand's Instagram.

adidas Yeezy 350 Boost a Symbol for Creativity

Since Kanye West stepped into the limelight he has been on a challenging mission to create outside of his musician box. He is a glorified rapper, but many have doubted his artistry, design-eye, and creative ingenuity. For a genius this is frustrating, and Kanye voiced his feelings in the following 2013 interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe:

“Well I’ve reached a point in my life where my ‘Truman Show’ boat has hit the painting, and I’ve got to a point that Michael Jackson did not break down. I have reached the glass ceiling as a creative person, as a celebrity. When I say that it means I want to do product I am a product person, not just clothing, but water bottle design, architecture, everything that you could think about. And I’ve been at it for 10 years and I look around and I say, ‘Wait a second, there’s no one around here in this space that looks like me and if they are they’re quiet as fuck.’ So that means wait a second, now we are seriously in a civil rights movement.”

Every project, every interview, and every meeting Kanye West fights for creative achievement no matter who you are. His frustration he expressed in 2013 came to a head in 2014 when Nike refused royalties in his contract, despite the success of the Air Yeezy silhouettes. This led to a welcoming home for Mr. West at adidas as he states, "adidas was a company that was flexible and used to dealing with creatives enough to allow me to create something that was very close to my heart." Yeezy Season 1, adidas 750 Yeezy Boost, and the newest development--adidas Yeezy 350 Boost are all products of Kanye's struggle he wishes everybody to enjoy. 

Following the success of his high-top 750 sneaker Ye extends his footwear prowess with the low-top 350 causally dressed in a grey-melange Primeknit® upper. At first glance the sneaker is easily compared to Nike's Roshe Run, but the 350 boasts a minimalist aesthetic seen as reflective rope laces mix with the grey colorway and the heel tab appears to be added solely for function. Walk on clouds thanks to adidas' comfortable Boost sole unit. The next installment to Kanye's vision releases globally at select adidas locations on June 27 for $200 USD. "Never stop fighting no matter what anyone says, no matter how they try to compromise you, compromise your vision," says the artist, and let this sneaker be a testament to that very statement.

Nike Launches Sneaker Raffle

Even when Nike tries to mitigate the unfairness that has arisen through purchasing limited release sneakers, their efforts seem half-assed.  The dawn of the Twitter link has had sneakerheads clamoring for ways to beat the system in hopes of copping the most exclusive Air Jordans. First, they tried to render "sneaker bots", which are computer programs that can be purchased off the internet intended to jump the consumer to the front of the virtual line, obsolete.  Nike introduced a reCAPTCHA application, designed to detect which consumers were actually human versus robotic; however, such attempts fell through as the bots inevitably found a way to bypass the barriers. 

Taking another crack at combatting the bots, Nike has introduced an online raffle system for limited releases.  With the hopes of putting the shoes in the hands of the real consumer, customers will now have to follow their local Nike store on Twitter and await a Twitter link  to an entry page that will require input of their size to enter the raffle.  Sneakerheads will have 24 hours to complete this process.  The only Nike store to be involved with this system at the moment is Nike Chicago, but hopefully this is the effective solution Nike leadership has been searching for.  It will be interesting to see if this has an effect on the secondary shoe market.  Will the raffle allow more of the sneaker enthusiasts to purchase limited releases or does it perpetuate re-selling?  For more details on the raffle head here.