Sneaker Anatomy - OFF- WHITE High Top Court Sneakers

While the audience is still focusing on the ongoing collaboration between OFF-WHITE and Nike, during Virgil Abloh’s brand Temperature show in Florence a whole new line of shoes made its first appearance.

Among bright orange Timberland boots, never-before-seen Vans collaboration and sandals that almost instantly evoke 90's minimalist fashion, the public eye was mostly caught by the orange-tag-detailed Hight Top Court Sneaker. Until now OFF-WHITE's shoes, despite the brand’s enormous worldwide success, never got so much attention, mostly driven towards garments, but not anymore. These new High-Top Court sneakers are getting a huge amount of interest and positive feedbacks. This new line of sneakers could be key to make OFF-WHITE a relevant brand even in the shoe market.

But where do these sneakers come from?

Let’s discover the most-likely inspirations behind the OFF-WHITE SS18 High-Top Court Sneakers.

Nike Air Jordan 1 High “OG”

Being one of the most historically relevant sneakers of all times, Air Jordan 1 has always been a huge ispiration for high-end designers who wanted to approach sneakers. It’s only thanks to Air Jordan 1 if some of the most iconic high-end kicks like Rick Owens Dunks, Saint Laurent High Tops or Givenchy Tyson sneakers, designed by Riccardo Tisci, had seen the light. In this case, the J1 are one of the main ispirations in terms of silhouette, proportions and detailing.
The decision to come out with an Air Jordan 1 inspired sneakers is maybe the research of a timeless silhouette. Nike Air Jordan 1 in fact are one of the most long-lived sneakers in hisrory, that never stopped to be one of the everyone’s favorite designs of all time.

Alexander Wang x adidas Originals BBall

Firstly underrated - at least by the sneaker purists- this collab sold out at the speed of light. Insider rumors revealed that this was one of the main inspirations behind OFF-WHITE High Top Court Sneakers.
Giving a closer look to both sneakers it is clear that they have a lot in common. The shape is quite similar, so is the lacing system and some the tank details of the sole. Another detail they share is the toecap that is pretty much identical - also the color pattern is mostly resembling. The biggest difference is about proportion: the adidas x Alexander Wang is way more clunky.

Reebok Classic

This classic silhouette was totally forgotten until the adidas YEEZY Powerphase Calabasas first came out. Calabasas sneakers revamped the interest around Reebok Classic because everyone who couldn’t cop the Yeezy Powerphase discovered an easy way to have the same exact shoes for less than half the price. What Reebok Classic have in common with Off-White High Top Court sneakers is for sure the tank sole, but also some details of the side paneling like the branding placement and the toebox. The heel is also very similar.

LA Gear Star Shooter High

LA Gear was a very popular sneaker brand during the 90’s, that has slowly been forgotten and ended up out of the pubic radar. This year thanks to the huge 90’s revival it popped up again here and there on magazines and forums threads. Star Shooter design was a sort of Nike J1 and AF1 hybrid. So there is more than one good reason to compare Star Shooters to Off-White High Top Court Sneakers. Silhouette and proportion are quite close and so is the lacing system. The heel construction, even if more accentuated on the Star Shooter is very similar. Another detail they share is the shape of the midsole.