Malcolm VenableThe Virginian-Pilot
Pretty soon, the city will earn street cred with the hipster set for scoring the ultimate in urban fashion: a sneaker.
Commonwealth, the Ghent store that carries cult tennis shoes and indie threads, has teamed with Reebok to produce its very own sneaker. Based on Reebok’s classic Pump shell, the shoe will come in mint, black and gray and will feature a marble swirl in its middle.
Omar Quiambao, who designed the shoe and serves as Commonwealth’s creative director, said that to his knowledge, his will be the first sneaker to be designed in Hampton Roads.
The shoe does not yet have a name, but Quiambao said the shoe may play off the store’s slogan 'For the Greater Good.’ Or, he said, it might have a “Willy Wonka” name to hint at its candy swirl. Whatever he chooses, Quiambao realizes the name could change.
“A lot of times kids on the street end up giving a shoe a name anyway,” Quiambao said, much like Nike’s Air Force Ones are called “Uptowns.” With retro sneakers such as Vans, Pro-Keds and PF Flyers back on the elusive “It” list, Commonwealth’s decision to use the Pump couldn’t be timelier. All across the country, mod sneaker boutiques such as Alife in New York or Wish in Atlanta cater to urban fashionistas willing to drop $200 and up for obscure or discontinued kicks. Reebok, not coincidentally, is relaunching its Pump, the sneaker introduced in 1989 with the inflatable balloon-cushion that sold some 20 million pairs in four years.
“The Pump is Reebok’s signature technology,” said Ryan Cross, who works in Reebok’s Directional Sales department in New York. “Even though it’s retro, it really works. It has evolved over the years.”
Cross and Quiambao began talking about the partnership in MARCH?SPRING , months before Adidas aquired Reebok for $3.8 billion. Cross said the purchase would not affect the release of this sneaker. He decided to work with Commonwealth because of its niche and also because he’s known Quiambao and his work. “The collaborations that we do with stores or artists are few and far between,” Cross said. “We like to pick people that are cutting edge and well respected in their field.”
Quiambao is a 1995 graduate of Pratt Institute, the New York design school. He got into fashion through advertising, he said, working for streetwear brands like DC Shoes and Akademiks. True to his school and counter culture work environs, inspiration for the shoe didn’t come from the traditional, Quiambao said.
“I was bouncing a 50-cent ball,” he said, the type a kid gets from a vending machine. “I thought I could treat the plastic part in the shoe to look like that. That part grabs your attention. It’s kind of going back to the euphoric, hippie days, and that goes back to the greater good, and being happy.”
Sneaker geeks will appreciate the Commonwealth Pump’s added lore: the shoe’s design is based on the Omni Lite, which Dee Brown wore when he won the Slam Dunk contest during the NBA All-Star Weekend in 1991.
“That’s a tribute to our heritage,” said Cross. “That brings the collaboration full circle.”
The Commonwealth Pump will cost from $110 to $125 and, Quiambao promises, will come in special packaging. Fewer than 100 pairs will be produced.
No date for the shoe’s release has been announced, but Cross and Quiambao were confident the shoe would be on Commonwealth’s shelves by the end of the year.
The new shoe from Commonwealth in Ghent will come in mint, black and gray. The shoe doesn't have a name as of yet - Vote for your favorite Pilot-proposed name for the new shoe.
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