One of my assignments when completing my certificate at the Fashion Institute of Technology was to share and write about what I consider my “Grail”. For those who don’t know what “Grail” means it’s a shoe that a collector or sneakerhead adores the most and will do anything to have in their collection.

Update: here’s a short video I made about these sneakers!

https://youtube.com/shorts/zNq77Cozty8?feature=share

The Story

As part of the 2016 Air Max Day Celebration (Nike Sneaker Holiday – March 26), Nike invited several designers/influencers to submit a concept for their ideal Air Max creation. The public voted and Sean came out the winner and I’m so glad he did!

However, that was just one part of the story of how this sneaker came to be. I had no idea Ben Baller was involved and after seeing how passionate Sean and his team were talking about the Air Max 1/97 hybrid it made me want this sneaker on a whole new level. More importantly, the video I saw naturally made me feel good and happy. This is why this sneaker is important to me. The importance of this sneaker to me is because it represents creativity, positivity, and fearless expression.

For those who don’t know who Mr. Sean Wotherspoon is, he’s the founder of the well-known store, Round 2. Sean is known for his insane vintage collection which reflects heavily on his business ventures, style, and of course on this sneaker.

The Sizing/Comfort

It’s honestly a good fit whether you go true to size or half size down. I would say for this shoe you should be fine if you keep it true to size. The other important part of the fit you need to keep in mind is that the inside of the shoe is velour, so don’t be surprised if you notice an odd feeling around your feet.

The Aesthetic & Quality

Where do I begin? Firstly, this shoe is a hybrid of two iconic Nike silhouettes; the Air Max 1 and the Air Max 97 as the sneaker features the Air Max 97 upper, with the Air Max 1 midsole.

I feel that the material of choice for the upper goes well with Sean’s personal style, which is vintage. The corduroy upper is something you don’t see often and is a big factor of why I wanted to own a pair. The texture is strong and with the multiple colours featured, it will actually look better with more wear and tear. Something that is also awesome is that this shoe is vegan! Yes, vegan. I wish all shoes were vegan.

The Price

If you were to ask me how many raffles I entered to win the chance to purchase the shoe, I believe it was 41 across the globe. Fortunately, I was able to at least win one of them and that’s all I needed.

To this date, I still can’t believe I actually won a raffle, especially from Haven! I couldn’t believe it from the moment I was notified until I actually put it on my feet. Thankfully I only paid retail which is $215 CAD. However, if you want to cop these kicks right now it is currently selling at Stadium Goods for $645 USD.

Overall

Cop or drop? Cop

Comfort? Pretty Good

Aesthetic? Extremely Well Done

Price? Retail: Reasonable Resale: High

Packaging? Extremely Well Done

All in all, this is probably the most “hyped” sneaker in my collection but more importantly, it’s one of my favourite sneakers to rock due to the story and quality. I am happy that the resale value for this did drop after the general release because its an overall great shoe that everybody will love.