Recon and Nort

by:a.brain

One of the hottest brands and two of the sweetest stores out right now are Recon Clothing, and Nort Shoes. Graffiti artists Stash and Futura are the braintrust behind these two ventures. Here is an example of a review the store received:

This tiny metallic storefront resembles a reception area more than a shoe store. The selective Nike shoes sit on solid metal pedestals that resemble steel lily pads and the similarly metallic benches lack the inviting comfort conducive to trying on shoes. You can expect to listen to the shoe salesmen’s pretentious cordless phone conversations in lieu of music. The help doesn’t like to help you. Just browsing can bring a barrage of sarcastic comments from the snarky cashier perched behind a desk that obscures the store’s warehouse of merchandise. The attitude of the salespeople almost begs you to take your business elsewhere.

The clothes are interesting but the SHOES are exclusive. One of the shoes that's got me skeeting is the Nike HTM's that are featured in the photo on the right. They are so rare you can't find them. What does HTM stand for? Good Question. The HTM is in a manner of speaking empirical project because NIKE investigates the needs of the market.

The HTM limited series , 1500 pairs mainly in Japan, Hong Kong , France and London, is another marketing collaboration by Nike with famous DJ / designer in Tokyo : Hiroshi Fujirawa

The HTM signature stands for :

1- H "Hiroshi Fujirawa" :The most celebrated d.j.-turned-designer in Tokyo is a thirty-seven-year-old named Hiroshi Fujiwara, whose name is spoken with something like reverence by Japanese fashion sorts.

Fujiwara travelled to clubs like Heaven in London or Paradise Garage in New York in the eighties, and then introduced Japanese audiences not just to Western club music but to fashion labels like Stüssy.

These days, he helps Nike out with marketing ideas (he prefers not to call himself a consultant, just a friend, but he is the kind of friend who has flown in the company's private jet) and writes a column of fashion recommendations for a magazine called Men's Non-No.

For your info : Fujiwara recently held an Internet auction of his possessions, in which a nylon jacket with a fabric insert on one sleeve, a piece he had both designed and worn, sold for 1.1 million yen, nearly eight and a half thousand dollars.

2- T "Tinker L. Hatfield" : Vice President, Design and Special Projects Nike Inc. Beaverton, Oregon

3- M "Mark Parker" : Nike's brand president and one of a handful of executives who report to chairman Phil Knight.

Once again you see Nike ahead of the game reaching out into the fringes and grabbing a couple of street artists (vandals), combo them with a Japanese fashion "friend" (DJ that sucked) and - BAM - buzz.

Comments

[a.brain]

thanks C...I will do my best to pump your head full of obscurity for future convo's.

Go buy my book.

[cancer]

I'd seen an article on this shoe somewhere else, but the in-depth nature of your expose is truly enlightening. I'm stashing this info in my short-term memory, hoping that someone asks me about it really quickly (before I learn some other piece of obscure information).