I came across these sneakers from Jeff Staple late last night, and I love the philosophy and idea behind them more than I like the sneakers themselves. Upon first glance, there’s nothing really special about the straight up brown sneaker aside from the red laces, which are a nice touch. What I love about them, is that Jeff Staple is bringing his upscale design and talent to the masses by making them affordable. Staple explains:
“The whole idea behind this collaboration is to bring our design sensibilities to a different audience and the distribution that Payless covers (over 4000 stores globally). In addition, there’s one simple parameter: No shoe retails for more than $50 bucks. (And in this day and age, I figure we could all use the help.)”
I had some time to peep some other blogs today and a few were scoffing at the fact that these were a collaboration with Airwalk and will be available exclusively at Payless, two “less than glamorous” brands. Personally, I think that’s unfair.
We often hold talent like Staple in a category of their own and scrutinize their design decisions instead of rewarding their inspiration. I’m not sure about Staple’s background, but I know when Stephon Marbury came out with his line of sneakers, he refused to make them high priced. Coming from a poor neighborhood, he believed that everybody deserved the right to own a pro athlete sponsored basketball shoe. Whether you’ll buy them or not. Whether you think Staple has ruined his street-cred or not. Whether you think you’re, for whatever reason, above buying anything from Payless or not. All of us should be thankful that people of Staple’s calibre are looking out for us.
In Staple. We trust.
stefan mstrpln says: 
