Japanese fashionistas have always had the strange ability to pull off outfits and combinations that many of us would normally find to be unfathomable. So, it comes as no surprise that the newest Converse Japan Summer Collection is made up of some of the most over the top variations on the classic Converse form seen in some time. The Leopard print (pictured above) are really leading the charge, if for no other reason than for as outlandish as they may seem, it also seems like the design is  long overdue with the rock and roll aesthetic of a Converse high top.

Converse presents: 9 nights, September 1st – 9th, Peanut Butter Wolf on a 9-night tour of the 9 area codes stretching from Los Angeles, Orange County to the Inland Empire. Each night PB Wolf will do video sets with multiple genres from the 90s.

The first night, at Pomona’s Glass House, Sep. 1, will be a Stones Throw showcase with Mayer Hawthorne, Dam-Funk, Rhettmatic and Pase Rock. The final night, Sep, 9th, is a party we’ll be announcing in early September.

“999″ follows in the tradition of Wolf’s 888 and 777 events in the past two years, and an all heavy metal DJ set for 6/6/6 in 2006.

909 Tue 1st: PB Wolf, Prince Paul, DJ Muggs, Dam-Funk, Mayer Hawthorne at Glasshouse, 200 W 2nd St, Pomona CA. ALL AGES, $15
323 Wed 2nd: Low End Theory at Airliner, 2419 N Broadway, Los Angeles. 18+ $5
562 Thu 3rd: Party Weirdo at Club 149, 149 Linden, Long Beach. 21+ $5
626 Fri 4th: Footwork at The Terrace, 443 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. 21+ $9.99
213 Sat 5th: FYF Fest at Los Angeles Historic State, 1245 N. Spring, L.A. ALL AGES $15 A/$20D
949 Sun 6th: Lovemade at Detroit Bar, 843 W 19th St, Costa Mesa, CA. 21+ $5A/$10D
951 Mon 7th: More Fire Mondays at Sevilla, 3252 Mission Inn Ave, Riverside, CA. $10
714 Tue 8th: The Continental Room, 115 W Santa Fe Ave, Fullerton, CA. 21+ FREE
310 Wed 9th: Private Party with special guest DJs to be announced.

PLAYING: Acid Jazz, Backpack hip hop, Big beat, Brit pop, Cheesy R & B, Commercial rock, Country rock, Dancehall reggae, Death metal, Drum and bass, Freestyle, Gangsta rap, G Funk, Goth industrial, Golden age hip hop, Grunge, Hip house, Indie rock, jiggy, Jock Jams, Keep it real hip hop, Miami Bass, Neo soul, New jack swing, Rave, Sexy house, Shoegaze, Southern rap, Speed metal, Skater punk, Ska revival, Swing revival, Techno, Teen pop, Trance, Trip hop, Turntablism, UK Garage. WHAT TO WEAR: How about airbrushed overalls with one side down. Cross Colors. Boy London metal hats. a rayon suit with a turtleneck sweater. Tommy Hilfiger. Phillies Blunt t-shirt. a colorful rugby shirt. Rayon pants. polka dots. a denim button up shirt with a flower print tie and White Sox and X baseball cap. All shirts MUST BE tucked into those stonewashed jeans and show off those belt buckles and high top fades and gumbys. No backwards jeans allowed. There’s only one Kris Kross.

Union, Stussy, UNDFTD, & Converse. The limited-edition Black Friday t-shirt was created exclusively for The Block Party/Food Drive held at Union/Stussy/UNDFTD LA this past weekend featuring J.Rocc, Dam-Funk, DJ AM, & Flying Lotus. Only 300 tees were printed and Stones Throw got their hands on 50. You want? Act quick at stonesthrow.com.

Okay, so the new Cons lineup and site are up and purty. Peter Smolik told me he was on, but apparently he isn’t on the site.

More importantly, where was I when Axl’s pro model Cons dropped! I’m kinda tired of reissues, but somebody over there needs to greenlight a remake of these post haste. I mean look at those things. Package ‘em up for Chinese Democracy.

High tops + spandex = rock’n'roll.

Since skateboarders adopted the Chuck Taylor back in the 80′s, Converse has made a couple runs at building a serious skate division. The last shot ended back in ’01 and included both Felix Arguelles and a lawsuit with Kenny Anderson (never got paid his royalties). In ’03, Nike bought Converse for a solid $305 million.

Now, for spring ’09 (as rumored earlier on these pages) , Cons is making a fresh run, with some of their new skate models already popping up in skateshops (pictured above: the Nzinga) . The rumour mill has also slated their team to include Anthony Pappalardo, Sammy Baca, Nick Trappasso, Raymond Molinar, Ethan Fowler, Jack Curtin, and Peter Smolik. Keep an eye out for the lone star.

How you get down wit’ da bawss of all bawsses, Brandon Brubaker?

Game recognize game. We got to rappin’ and that’s how it happen.

Hold on… Was that girl I broke ya futon wit’ really two-fiddy?

A picture’s worth 300-plus words, right?

Wha’s ya three favorite shoes of all time?

I don’t know about all-time, but right now it’s Chucks, Rick Owens’ zip-ups, and the Lanvin in black.

Know what? I ain’t never seen a crew uh shoe designers… Y’all da new Outsiders?

Yup… Stay gold, Clyde, stay gold.

What do you think makes a dope shoe? Is it the parts, the whole, the colorways?
Design, color and materials. There’re a lot more details that go into a dope shoe. The names involved are definitely an important thing.

What’s your favorite shoe you’ve had a hand in designing?
Cons ERX300.

With Chucks, Vans Eras, and Dunks we’ve seen one shoe from the past reinterpreted a hundred different ways. Do you think this trend is about to be over, or do you think it’ll stick around?

I think they will always flip details off of classics. Let’s just say they’re not pushing the envelope.

Are you a fan of collabos, artist or brand or whatever? Or do you think it’s becoming played?

At this time I’m kind of over Lame X Lame.

Does a designer need to push his own personal style or be true to the brand’s style?

Designers should definitely have their own personal style. They should be true to a certain extent, but always put their touch on things. I developed my style through experience and hard work. Boob [Josh Brubaker]—living with him influenced me when I was in school because he was on some other shit by the time I got in the game. Thanks, homie!

Current shoe design is pretty obviously stuck in retro mode. Do you think design was better before, or is this just a trend playing itself out?
People need to step their game up.

In ten words or less, describe the adidas Kobe shoe designed by Audi.
Better yet, imagine getting posterized by those things. OUCHHH!

Where do you see design going from here?
Sky’s the limit.

I hit up Felix when I heard rumors about Converse re-launching their skate program, since he was one of the architects of Con’s first foray in skateboarding. Felix can be a pretty modest guy in his way, so I wasn’t expecting so much honesty about the ins and outs of the industry. As a veteran pro skater, shoe designer, clothing designer and stylist (and who knows what else he has cooking), Felix knows more about the shoe game from firsthand experience than most will ever learn. Feel free to see everything the man is juggling via onefelix.com. —PJC

Seriously Felix, have you ever met a shoe you couldn’t match to an outfit?
I’d have to say no. Riggin’ my kit is a pastime. But recently I’ve been streamlining my personal color palette. It makes packing so much simpler. So I travel in one colorway all the way down to my board.

Is the object of acquiring kicks to impress other heads? Or is it just pure materialism?
Being from New York, your kicks do a lot of talking, so I think it has just been embedded in my cerebrum since birth and strengthened as I grew up in that environment, where I found myself running home at times to not get flipped for my kicks in Washington Heights.

Are you still heavily influenced by NYC and nostalgia?
Definitely. I was around for the birth of hip-hop and B-boying, and I grew up alongside rap music in New York, so when I get in an old school state of mind it makes me remember some of the greatest moments in time, back when the NYC greats put swagger in the whole world’s step.

Who’re you working for now?
For the last three years I’ve been working for Famous Stars and Straps on various aspects of the company, more recently focusing on marketing and team development. But I always do some freelance design as long as it is non-conflicting with my work or sponsors. Seems like my workload is always growing.

You got any new shoes coming?
Some of my most recent shoes designs were a Nike Supreme I remixed with my cat head logo in chrome, like an allover print, for the Sneaker Pimps Tour; mid- and low-tops I did for Lexani Lifestyle; and a line of shoes for the Double B Brand, which you can check out at Finish Line.

How do you feel about Converse’s new push into skating, now that the brand is under Nike’s umbrella?
It has yet to be seen, but it’s completely expected. The blueprint we laid out when Converse made its first go set the template for Nike and all others to follow. Using classics with a twist for skateboarding, sneaker heads were able to get their OG favorites in new color stories with a slight morph of modern technology to bring them up to date for our abusive lifestyles. No hard feelings, but when Converse had their abrupt break before relaunching, unfortunately a lot of royalties fell through the cracks, so that was a tough break. It would be nice though, after I put them on two covers, in about 100 pages of editorial, and toured 15-plus countries, that I would be contacted. But hey, to be real, no one there now probably knows that history.

What was your title when you first got with Converse?
Endorser, but I worked on design, team development, marketing. I helped direct the company with the help of Andy Howell after we were able to get the “Skateboard Division” out of the mainstream advertising company’s hands, because I wanted it to succeed. The skateboard line was run kinda like a smaller company inside the bigger one, so we were able to have a lot of wins fast, but not fast enough in such short a time to carry the company. My shoes were top-sellers and at one tradeshow Shane Wallace [owner of the Active chain of stores] said he wrote orders for more DVS Daewons and my shoes than anything else at one ASR, so that was flattering. 

eBay—love it or hate it?
Cool if you don’t want to leave your house and have no friends. But I just recently tried to freak the game and searched for Kanye’s Air Yeezy hoping a stylist might had swooped some and put them online…

Which pair are your everyday go-to sneakers?
Lately, blacked-out Boings ’cause my feet hurt after I’m done skating. I’m kinda rough when I ride and got caught up in this vulcanized crack cocaine. These Lakai Rick Howard Selects hurt so good I love ’em, but my feet are humming when I’m done skating. And I’ve been pimping these all red Pony Uptowns ’cause they match my car.

Who are some sneaker heads that keep it rilla?
DJ AM—his kicks are always clean. I loved watching Javier Nunez doing frontside flips in the red Supreme Blazers days before they dropped while all the fools sleeping on the sidewalk in line for them cringed.

Any brands that impressing you right now?
In skate, Lakai has clean styles, so does Fallen. Gucci will always do some cool stuff, although since the departure of Tom Ford, stuff has fluctuated. Royal Elastics will do some cool stuff and has never sacrificed their integrity. Right in the middle of skate and fashion, I’d give it to Supra. Supra is probably the most I’ve been impressed lately.

Josh & Brandon Brubaker, Supra and Converse
A Clyde Singleton Production

In this century, there’ve been plenty of famous brothers. The Wright Brothers. Blues Brothers. Jackson 5. Da Bee Gees. And I ain’t ’een gone count them Jonas dudes in, due to their dangerously low levels of swag. But y’all know where I’m goin’. Anyhow, these are the Brubakers: Brandon and Josh. Me and these boys go back like some spinal cords. I first met Brandon when he popped up on my doorstep in LA with a bag of random sample kicks, which we’d all come to know as 4ce Footwear. After letting him in the gates, I realized not only had he been swag-splashing the shoe game since ’96 but, he was a force to be reckoned with in the future of footwear. Step into 2008. Now the new bawss of all bawsses over at Cons footwear, as well as the proud father of his first baby girl. The future’s looking brighter than ever for Brandon.

As for Josh, tha’s my nukka! Young Jeezy’s been in the shoe game a little over five years, and this dude has been straight hurtin’ feelin’s! Look if your resume includes designing for Sole Technology. How ’bout head designer for Supra? And being the man behind the Chad Muska Supra Skytop? I don’t think you’d have much more to say. But we ain’t tal’m ’bout your resume! And Josh has a lot more to say with the launch of Supra’s new NS line. Truth be told, I don’t think there’s much that can stop both these dudes moving forward. So without further ado, ladies and gentleman, it’s my honor to introduce none other than the Brothers Brubaker. (R.I.P. Mr. Brubaker; I know you see this from the heavens above, so kick ya feet back and smile. These kids are carrying tradition like none other.) Folks, y’all are now in tune with the finest. Jeah!

How’d you guys get into designing shoes?
B: I just basically fell into it in 1996. Met this cat that was the head of design at Vans and he asked me if I could crack off some designs. And the rest is a wash… Been doin’ it ever since.
J: My brother.
What’s your favorite shoe you’ve had a hand in designing?
B: Can’t name just one, but my faves are Vans Rowley I, Cardiel, and Hassan, and the shit you haven’t seen from Cons yet.
J: The Skytop.

What were some of your early influences, as far as shoes and designers?
B: You can’t fuck with Chuck Taylors, just how simple and dope it was and is. Timeless designs, that’s my shit.
J: Skateboarding, music, and just noticing shoes from a young age. Designers I always looked up to? My brother as the illest.
Does a designer need to put his own personal stamp on his designs? Or should he stay true to the brand?
J: Yeah, having your own style is very important, but you need to know how to design outside of your box. To me, designing a product that works for a company that is not your style, that’s what makes you a good designer. I feel like my style is always evolving, because there are a lot of things that inspire me. I was lucky to learn about how the shoe game works from watching my brother, before I actually started working for a brand.
Current shoe design is obviously in retro mode. Do you think design was better before, or is this just a trend playing itself out?
B: I don’t think about that bullshit.
J: That’s a tough one. I love retro shoes, but I love originality more. I think we’ll see a lot more retro/futuristic designs in the near future. High tops are back.
Alright; three worst shoes of all time.
B: Too many.
J: There are too many bad shoes to only mention three.

Three favorites?
B: All the kicks my baby bro does. He is ahead of the game! Couldn’t have a better homie.
J: Right now I’m feelin that Raf Simons Vandal boot, that Lanvin high top in magenta, John Varvatos Chuck Taylor highs. High tops all day!

Josh, you ever steal ya brothers kicks, skate in ’em, then clean ֦’em up, and put ’em back without thinking he’d notice the ollie marks?
J: Nah, we’re eight years apart, so his shoes were way too big for me growing up. Plus he always had me laced anyway.

Brandon, you’re a father now. Besides me peeing on your couch, how’s life changed of late?
B: Besides having a couch that smells like pee? You know homie, my daughter’s the best thing I’ve ever designed. Donavyn, you’re my heart! Baby-D represent.
What’s the most you’ve spent on a pair of shoes?
B: I’m not into that shit. Pampers have taken the place of shoe collecting.
J: $350.

Okay, the Mayor needs to know: What influence do trips of the Rover to Mars have on your shoe designs?
B: Red kicks?
J: The Mayor is trippin’! I don’t get all deep with influences. I surround myself with good people and friends I have had since I was in elementary school.

Who’s got the worst feet? Me, Tyrone Biggums or Brandon?
J: You take the throne on that one.

Are y’all familiar with a “club fossil”? It’s when you’re at the club gettin’ wavy and some chump step on ya shoe, and leave that ungawdly mark atop it. The shyt’s straight disgustya. So, when’s the last time you were the recipient of the club fossil?
B: Can’t remember my last club experence, but people better watch their step.
J: Yeah, I hate that. It’s been a while.
Where do you see design going from here?
B: No limitations. I’m just gonna keep on making ill shit.
J: High tops getting even taller and just more shoe companies trying to push the envelope of design.

Thank ya both for ya time.

This Feature is also available in Vapors 49 – The Sneaks Issue

Good answer. Now, if you have Supreme shops in Japan, why are there so many Japanese dudes always in both shops stateside?
The reason for that is because the clothing costs almost twice as much in Japan as it does here. If you ever go to Tokyo, there are tons of little shops that resell Supreme all over the place. It’s people that are affiliated with those places that travel here and LA to try to buy popular pieces that make their stores look good.
What makes Supreme so valuable as a brand? Is it legacy, or is it the stuff you’re doing now? Or is it both?
It’s both. Collectors love the old stuff, younger people love the new stuff, and in NY, everyone tries to look like us.

Would you even call Supreme a skate shop? I know the dudes who work there are skaters, but what percentage of the customers are?
Skaters still meet and congregate here, but the customer is rarely a skater. Somehow skateboards became a fashion accessory around last summer. Kids who hold the board by the truck, that sort of thing. It’s funny style, but money is still green no matter who’s spending it.

Alright, let’s talk kicks. What’re your everyday shoes?
Recently I’ve been wearing those new Converse mids. They’re sick. Clark Desert boots in the winter. And I always wear the Supreme Vans whenever they come out.

You collect?
Any Supreme shoe collab I had was worn until they were unwearable. I come across too many shoes to hang onto anything.

What shoes are you skating in?
Dunk Lo SBs are pretty good for skating—no break-in period required. Put them on and they’re instantly skateable. The new Converse shoes that are coming out are way more comfortable, however. I’ve had two pairs of them and they’re sick. A little on the bulky side, though. For a while I loved skating in Vans, but I would just blow through them too quickly. I need skate shoes to last for more than five days.
What’s the craziest shoe release you guys have done? What happened?
The craziest release had to be the “What The Dunk?.” Police barricades, stormy weather all week, and a huge group of kids waiting four days, all comparing their Swoosh tattoos with their Jumpman tattoos as they waited—all made for a crazy event. I was relieved when it was all over in 45 minutes.

What are your five favorite Supreme lines?
1. “You can’t get a discount, but you can count on getting dissed.” —R. Hickey
2. “Any drop-offs?”
3. “The guys at Supreme LA are my homies.”
4. “It’s only free when you don’t ask for it.”
5. “This is all you got?”

Any hints about what’s in the pipes at Supreme?
The artist collaborations are something to look forward to. The projects that are presented at Supreme set us apart from other skate shops, or “boutiques.” It’s always gotta be more than just a trendy image on a tee. Supreme has always managed tap into culture a bit further than just streetwear.
Okay, one last thing, which was utterly confusing to me: why was Spring’s Kermit the Frog release such a hit? Why is Kermit suddenly valuable enough to camp out for? Any theories?
A lot of people ask about the Kermit thing. I can’t really speak for the creators of the idea, but my take on it is this: the past three or four seasons for Supreme have been the best, and when we release a series of new graphic tees, there have been a few displaying hip-hop iconography. There was the Raekwon tee, where he was holding an Elmo doll, and his associate, also in the photo, was holding an Uzi. The next one was the Juelz Santana and Jim Jones tee; Jim was kind of lurking in the background, blunt in mouth. These tees sold out in one day. Then there’s Kermit, who is just posted up in the photo wearing the coveted box logo tee. There’s something about the sequence of how these tees came out that I think added to its popularity. It also has to do with the logo that Kermit is wearing, which we rarely make anymore. Plus we put out the Kubrick Kermit toy along with it and put him on a logo board. It was just a different idea. But I did think to myself, “Why?” Especially when people over thirty years old were lining up day after day in hopes of buying the Kermit tee.

Alright, any last words, Mr. Lamb?
Just wanted to say one thing about the rumors of everyone at Supreme NY being assholes…true story.

Pull quote: “Just wanted to say one thing about the rumors of everyone at Supreme NY being assholes…true story.”