Sacai makes you see double

By Shu Xie

Good things come in pairs, they say. Swooshes, too, it seems. Sacai’s partnership with Nike has yielded some fine kicks—this season is no exception. Or, perhaps, more exceptional for the extra Swoosh that the Japanese brand has given the side of this Blazer Mid, a shoe Nike calls “heritage” and was first released in 1972. But the twice-the-number treatment did not stop at Nike’s trademark logo. It’s two of what can be doubled on a pair of sneakers: laces, tongues, and even the mid-soles. I’m just surprised they didn’t double the pair—buy one, get two!

Frankly, I am not sure if the sum is really double the fun, but it does render the Blazer Mid a certain interest I usually associate with Vans going atas when they, too, go into designer collabs. I know this season, most sneakerheads are talking about the other Sacai X Nike sneaker, the LDV Waffle, a shoe so anticipated, so colour-saturated, so visually appealling, it could be this year’s Undercover X Nike React Element 87, but I feel Sacai’s remake of the Blazer Mid is less trying (actually, I am, foremost, mad about Undercover X Nike’s upcoming Daybreak running shoe).

Sacai x Nike Blazer Mid Black Blue

The Blazer Mid is essentially a skateboarding shoe. Or, at least that’s what it started out as. Sacai’s, when shown during the spring/summer 2019 presentation last year, pushed aside anything skater-like for a styling that’s more stoked than any sneaker Supreme has outputed with Nike. The way you, too, could do it is, of course, wear the Blazer Mid unlaced, as on the runway. How that would not look contrived, I can’t say for sure.

A friend of mine told me recently that fashionistas/influencers formerly not into sneakers (for whatever sartorial reason) are now rapidly into track and court shoes “because Comme and Sacai are doing Nike.” More than that. These brands are adding and, in some cases, leading the race in kicks that are weird and wonderful. Fashion folk don’t do re-issues that come in a new colour: see how quickly the Stan Smith faded. They prefer a fasntastic construct, better still, de-construct. Clothes isn’t getting madder, but sneakers just got started.

Sacai X Nike Blazer Mid is available at DSMS today, but by the time you read this, the raffle for the shoe has ended, and you’ll probably be left with hope for a re-release. Alternatively, try DistriSneaks online. Photos: Sacai and Nike