One of today’s finest shoes is the New Balance 420 though it is considered classic, but the enhancement that took place makes it more than a hit of yesteryears. The buttery soft full grain leather toe-box and side panel and the soft suede back panel give a combination of classic and hype tune, but more interestingly, it has a metal-infused nylon that covers a part of the upper. The New Balance 420 comes in two colorways- the Beige/Brown and the Green/Purple, with $110 price tag on, and now available at New Balance retail outlets.

The first release of the Johnson Mid by The Hundreds was a huge hit, so it only makes sense that a second round would make an appearance.This time around they scrap the suede uppers and give them a premium leather makeover.Releasing in black, pink, purple and gray.

These look like your typical pair of Adidas Superstars in a black and white colorway.Or do they?Take a closer look and you will see a little something sparkle.This Adidas shoe features 6 real diamonds on each shoe, and each shoe also features a crystal studded lacelock.Don’t wear these ones on rainy days, that is if you can even find and afford a pair.

Adidas has really been mixing things up this new year.Here we have a new pair of Adidas Superstar Vintages which comes in metallic silver leather.The silver is solid on the front and sides, but gets a herringbone pattern towards the rear.The stripes come in 2 shades of red and 1 shade of white.

Can you see the shoe against the green background?Almost no, as this is the Army Green colorway of the Nike Zoom Lebron 6 Low.The upper is 100% Army Green, with white only being spotted on the tongue logo, and the contrast stitching.What do you think, should these make it to production or stay in the sample room?

S4 of Sole Creations took a different approach to his Obama-inspired Air Force Ones than other designers. Rather than focusing on the messages of hope and change from the campaign, S4 targeted the idea that Obama’s presidency is the fruition of a prophecy laid forth by Martin Luther King Jr. I found these photos at the Sole Creations Customsnkr.com blog linked here.

The interior sides of the Prophecy/Fruition Air Force Ones feature white doves set against red and blue backdrops. The left exterior side shows Martin Luther King giving his famous “I have a dream…” speech at the Lincoln Memorial. The right exterior side shows the word fruition, a sketch of Obama’s face and an American flag to bring us to the present.

I enjoyed S4’s use of white lettering on the toe boxes set against blue and red to drive home the prophecy/fruition theme. The message of the Prophecy/Fruition Air Force Ones is clear but it has not been implemented widely in the sneaker art world to this point. Aside from the poignancy of these custom AF1s, I loved the various design elements including the doves and the transcribed speeches used to complete S4’s thought.