Streething

2011: Year in Review

By Julian Loh, December 31, 2011

If we had to pick out one key moment that really made 2011 for us, it would have to be our collaboration shoe collection with New Balance and Singaporean sneaker boutique, Leftfoot.

It's been six years since we first started, and although now we've evolved into an online zine for fashion, art, design, urban culture and lifestyle, those who've been following us from early on will know that we started as an online sneaker forum with the sole intention of sharing information with like-minded peeps.

We never planned for any of this to happen, and looking back at those early forum days, peeps always joked about us getting our own collab shoe, and here it is! Not just one pair but a whole pack! We even teamed up with Japanese leather artisans Leather Factory Roberu for a run of superbly crafted camera straps.

It is an honour that New Balance has made our wildest (non-sexual) dream come true, and to all that supported us by buying and rocking the kicks, CHEERS!

So with that out the way, here's a rundown of other moments in 2011 that we wrote about.

Art Stage Singapore 2011 - By far the biggest art event in Southeast Asia, Art Stage saw hundreds of exhibits, Murakami's being snapped up for millions as well as talks by artists such as acclaimed photographer David LaChappelle.

New Balance Singapore Spring/Summer '11 Lookbook - New Balance commissioned us to produce a lookbook, and we worked with several retailers/brands such as Actually, The Denim Store, Fred Perry, Ambush, SIfr and Hooked Clothings to present their S/S '11 footwear collection.

adidas 'Sports Style Day' Fashion Show - The private event brought together adidas' Y-3, Porsche Design, SLVR, Stella McCartney, Neoand Originals lines in a massive fashion show attended by over 400 guests from around the region.

Nike 'Air Foamposite One' re-release - This might have slipped past many a sneakerhead's radar, but for many fans of '90s basketball these were a must have. Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway's iconic signature shoes were re-released for the first time in Southeast Asia, and unlike retro Jordans these came pretty much as they did back in '97!

Dr. Martens Store @ Wheelock Place, Singapore - This is where you'll be getting most of the limited Dr. Martens releases now, such as the exclusive new 'Hair on Horsey' collection.

'What's Up Manila?' Video Feature - During our trip to Manila, we briefly caught up with Big Boy (Ronac ART Center/ Secret Fresh), Endo (Clavel Magazine/ Progress/ Bikefix), and Dennis Tan (Titan/ Slam Magazine). What these three have in common is that they're going against the grain to turn their passions into businesses while remaining true to what they love.

Interview with VERBAL - We sat down with Reebok's new APAC Creative Director, VERBAL, for a quick chat. Apart from talking about Reebok, he also gives some leads on some interesting places to check out in Tokyo, which we put to the test when we were down there and they are indeed cool.

"New Balance: Japanese Ideas in an American Company" Video Feature - In this video that was shot during our visit to Tokyo last year for the launch of the Tricolor collection, we explored the influence that New Balance Japan has had in pushing trends when it comes to footwear.

Nike Air MAG - The Nike Air MAG, the iconic shoe that was worn by Marty McFly (played by Michael J. Fox) in the Back to the Future film series, finally got an official release after 23 years. Millions were raised as the 1510 pairs were auctioned off for charity, but we managed to get a hands-on with a pair courtesy of Singaporean sneaker boutique, Limited Edt.

'Limited Edt Queensway' Relaunch - Speaking of Limited Edt, their original branch which opened in 2003 finally got a long overdue makeover.

Zouk x Dr. Martens 'Custom 1461 shoes for charity' - For Singaporean club Zouk's 20th anniversary, they teamed up with Dr. Martens and 20 talents that include street artist Jahan, Alvin Tan from Phunk Studio, shoe boutique Leftfoot and Japanese DJ,Shinichi Osawa. They were all tasked with creating a custom pair of 1461 shoes that would be auctioned off for charity.

New Balance 'ML71' - These are a nice pair of kicks, but what got us choosing these as one of the key moments of 2011 is the tech used in the soles. They use New Balance's Minimus design elements that provides minimal heel drop, which results in a barefoot like experience with the benefits of wearing shoes. We've seen this tech being put to good use the performance oriented Minimus line, but this is the first time it has appeared in lifestyle sneakers that we would wear to kick about in.

Thom Browne Eyewear by DITA - The collection consists of 20 different styles, and with all the different colour variations, there's a whopping 60 types of frames to choose from. Of course, being made by DITA, they're all hand made inJapan using quality materials.During the launch at Surrender we sat down with DITA Director, Tommy O'Gara, for a quick Q&A.

George Cox Footwear @ Leftfoot - We've seen "brothel creeper" style design influences in many sneakers and shoes over the past year or two, but the original is officially available now at Leftfoot! They just received their first shipment this month, and there's stuff that we haven't seen anywhere else before.

Air Jordan 'XI Retro' Concord - Being one of the most highly revered sneakers of all time, the demand for these Jordans need not be explained . As chaos broke out in the US where peeps were causing riots, we had it much easier in Southeast Asia with the regular queueing and campouts.

And that's all for 2011 folks! Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as we did, and we'll be working hard to bring you even better coverage in 2012!