The rise of LeBron James as a pre-eminent star in the NBA has not diminished the brightness of Kobe Bryant’s star. Kobe Bryant is talked about on a daily basis by national reporters whether it is a 70 point performance, a potential trade or an off-the-court problem. The shoe customizer MACHE has honored Kobe Bryant’s high level of performance with this customized pair of Air Jordan IIIs.

Friends on your right side will look down and see a tribute to Bryant’s performance in the 1997 Slam Dunk Contest. The portraiture of Kobe dunking with authority has the quality of an actual photo. The left shoe features a picture of Kobe going up with a reverse lay-up that could have been taken from any game. The gold and blue colors of the Los Angeles Lakers are added to these custom for full effect.

These shoes are constructed with care and offer basketball fans a way to pay tribute to a living legend. The best part of these customs is the fact that Kobe’s likeness is placed on a pair of shoes produced by his legendary predecessor. There is a hint of torch passing when you look at the back to see a golden symbol instead of the Jordan silhouette to represent Kobe Bryant.

Tartan (what most people call plaid) is being used in many sneakers as of late. Puma continues the trend with the Puma Suede Tartan Pack.

This pack features two shoes. One of the colorways is black with red laces and details. And the other shoe is the reverse colorway. Both of the shoes feature a red tartan inner lining. I prefer the shoe that is primarily black. However both of them look pretty sweet. If you are looking to pick up a simple suede low sneaker, these would be a good choice.

You can get these shoes right now at Flauge for 9,975 yen, which is about $88 USD.

This is one of the first real photos of the Air Jordan XX3 (23) that has been online. Many Jordan fans were waiting for some actually pictures of this shoe after seeing mock-ups.

This sneaker may be the last numbered shoe in the series as the commmorative number 23 edition.

No official details about this shoe have been released and this is not expected to be the first colorway to drop on January 25th.Via heat23 at niketalk and Air-randy.com.

Onitsuka Tiger has collaborated with Mini To create a special edition sneaker. This is to commemorate the release of their Mini Clubman.  This set has 3 colorways; black, beige and brown. Mini has its own traditional logo that looks like a pair of metal wings. This logo is fixed on the back heel.  This R55 pack has been released at Mita web store. Each pair has a price tag in the range of ¥ 13, 500 – 16,800.

I wrote about the clothier and shoe purveyor OneTrue Saxon earlier this month regarding the company’s new Scout Ones. These stylish casual shoes will soon be joined on the market by the Scout Signature series of shoes. OneTrue Saxon changes up the drab colorways of the Scout Ones with…another set of drab colors. The simplicity of the Scout Signatures more than make up for pedestrian color offerings.

The shoes pictured above are the chocolate brown Scout Signatures with a gum sole for long term durability. A pair of white Scout Signatures with dimpled outsoles are pictured after this post. I dislike the white colorway immensely because this shoe succeeds by obscuring its simplicity with earthy colors. You can look at the brown Scout Signatures or the olive green Scout Ones and see a shoe you can wear anywhere. When I look at the white Scout Signatures, I think of Rodney Dangerfield’s character on “Caddyshack” dancing to Journey. I suggest the chocolate browns available through www.goodnorth.com.

In this collection are six premium models – Sub-40 Alpha Chromeo, Getlo Mid Harry Bolt, Getlo Mid Snake Eyes, 3M Hexells Plated, Peddler Chromeo Ink and Peddler Chromeo Blanc.

The collection features a variety of interesting textures, fabrics and details, including Morrocco genuine leather, perforated nubuck, mesh, herringbone textures, mirrored patent leather, quilted nappa leather, 3M and laser accents.

I like all these kicks, but my favorite two pairs are the Getlo-Mid Harry Bolt and Peddler 3M Hexsells Plated. The red hot Harry Bolt features a fuschia sole that really stands out. I like the 3M Hexsells Plated because of the interested muted color upfront combined with the neon greens.

All these shoes are hand numbered and feature a certificate of ownership, gold bar hang tag, extra laces, lace bag and shoe bag. Each style is limited to 200 pairs worldwide.

The collection will be available at the Overkill Shop, BKRW Paris and several other accounts. You can order many of these shoes right now at the Overkill Shop, priced between 159.90 and 199.90 Euros per pair.