Sneaker Freak's Realistic Shoe Selection. Vol.2 Manabu Tsuyoshi

Sneaker Freak's Realistic Shoe Selection.
Vol.2 Manabu Tsuyoshi

The sneaker market continues to expand, with the latest performance shoes, limited editions, collaborations, faithful reissues, and even top maisons participating. What are the perspectives of the sneaker experts, what models do they choose, and what do they actually wear? We will introduce the real shoe choices of the best sneaker freaks in the industry in a relay format. This time, Mr. Manabu Tsuyoshi, designer of "FDMTL (Fundamental)," was introduced by Mr. Motofumi "POGGY" Ogi in the previous issue. We asked him to name five pairs that he is particularly attached to, and asked him why he chose each pair and what his favorite points are.

Photo_Erina Takahashi

Text_Issey Enomoto

Edit_Hiroshi Yamamoto

01: NIKE_AIR JORDAN 1 One of a kind indigo dyed leather.

Today, please tell us about some sneakers that are very dear to your heart. Let's start with the Air Jordan 1. I have never seen such a color before, what is it?

Tsuyoshi:The Air Jordan 1 is made of real indigo dyed leather. They were specially made at a store in Philadelphia called "UBIQ".

What do you mean you had it specially made?

Tsuyoshi:UBIQ" is a store that mainly sells sneakers and clothes, and is also a business partner of our brand. They have a custom shoe workshop called "UBIQ LAB. One day, I was talking with a staff member there and said, "Wouldn't it be fun to make an "Air Jordan 1" out of real indigo leather? And they really did it. At the end of last year, I sent the indigo-dyed leather from Japan and received the finished product in January of this year.

. The indigo dyeing is unique, and the navy hue is very distinctive.

Tsuyoshi:I think the more I wear them, the better they will fade. I haven't worn them once yet because I feel like it would be a waste (laughs).

. If you look closely, you can see that the material of the leather is slightly different for each part.

Tsuyoshi:It is made of three different types of leather. . The upper is made of cowhide leather and suede, switching from one part to the other, while the tongue and lining are sheep leather.

Tsuyoshi, is the "Air Jordan 1" one of your favorite sneakers?

Tsuyoshi:Not only the first model, but I have a special attachment to the "Air Jordan" series for myself, having experienced the sneaker boom of the past. In recent years, due to the influence of the Netflix documentary "Last Dance," the popularity of the "Air Jordan 1" has been increasing worldwide, and the popularity of the "Air Jordan 1" in particular is so high that it could be called abnormal. The market price has skyrocketed, and a dead stock pair from 1985 is now priced at over 1 million yen.

I've been a fan of Nike since I was a student, and it was my dream to have my own custom-ordered pair of "Nikes". There were an infinite number of color combinations, but I ended up settling for all-black. Twenty years later, I had the rare opportunity to customize the "Air Jordan 1," and the color scheme I chose was all navy. 20 years have passed, but basically nothing has changed.