words & interview_Nick DePaula images_Zac Dubasik
For the last decade, there hasn't been a bigger stage for footwear than the NBA's All-Star Weekend. With this year's events taking place in Dallas and the game being held at the brand new, 100,000-seat Dallas Stadium, you can surely expect things to be done bigger than ever before. Nike Basketball is hoping to do their part in outfitting the feet of their most accomplished players, and with the work of Eugene Rogers, Nike Basketball Color Designer, and Erick Goto, Nike Basketball Product Graphic Designer, they've created some of their brightest All-Star sneakers ever for Kobe, LeBron, Kevin Durant and all of their other All Stars. We caught up with Eugene and Erick to hear all about the patterns, inspiration and details that went into this year's Chlorine Blue and Daring Red concoctions. Look for the shoes to drop TONIGHT on Eastbay.com and tomorrow at House of Hoops locations! Nick DePaula: How long ago did you guys start working on these shoes, and what were your initial thoughts and ideas for the All-Star shoes? Eugene Rogers: We started in November. Erick Goto: We started fairly early. Mid-October even, at least concepting. Rogers: It took us the last three
months of the year.
NDP: Is that pretty early for All-Star shoes?
Rogers: It is, and this is one of the first times ever. Usually the challenge at Nike is we don't know what the All-Star uniforms are, because that's an adidas and NBA thing. So, for the first time, we decided that we were going to come with our point of view as to what we thought All-Star should be. When it comes down to the court, we have a good amount of the players that will be on the court. NDP: I guess you just have to hope that there aren't two-colored jerseys like that one year where it looked like four teams were on the floor. Goto: [laughs] Exactly, and we did a three-year history research on what Nike and adidas did, and then we were going down one path because of the direction of the uniforms, but we just decided to throw that out altogether and then go really aggressive with the super-bright colors. Rogers: We always feel like it's our responsibility to come with something that's unexpected. If you looked at the last three years, one year was silver versus gold, one year was very team blue versus very team red, and we wanted to amplify the idea of blue and red and really bring in the freshest colors that we had to work with. We wanted to also make it something that's very wearable after All-Star. With all of these events and moments in time that we do, it's very cool for the day of and for the collector, but we also want to make sure that we're hitting a real broad audience and that this is something that, if by chance it was still on a shelf a week later, this is something that you'd still jump on when you see it. Goto: And that's why we went with the tonal graphic as opposed to something else that's more high contrast so that it kind of fell away, but it's reflective so you can still have that pop during the game. NDP: What's the theme of the pattern? Goto: It's a wood grain pattern inspired by ranches and all of the buildings throughout Texas and in Dallas. The creative direction behind the graphics is Benny Montoya from Apparel, and in Basketball, Michael Spoljaric helped out with direction. We came up with the whole Texas western theme, and then that continues with the sockliner with the patches. On the wood grain, you'll actually see some stars integrated into the pattern, which is a cool, subtle hit towards All-Star. Rogers: All of the graphic hits on the panels are 3M, too. 
NDP: And the insole-stitched patch-is that specific to each Conference or each player? Goto: For all of the Western Conference ones, it has a pattern of stars that represent the number of times that the Western All Stars have won the game. For the East and West there's a different type base for the way they're written. Rogers: Erick also wanted the patch to look like it was branded, like a cow. Goto: Everything on the outside looks super modern, and then on the inside you have a nice little touch of Dallas. NDP: The laces are all waxed? Goto: Yeah, the laces are all waxed, and even the material of the laces, like on the Hyperize, it's got that rubbery finish, and we thought that was a cool, new material that we haven't used yet. NDP: What are some other details from the shoes? Rogers: Just the blocking is meant to highlight the key aspects of each shoe. On the Kobe, the black through the heel is really meant to emphasize the heel and is meant to emphasize that it's a low. KD has the lockdown in the strap, and the Swoosh and Flywire on the VII makes it about lockdown, and the Air Max bag means comfort for LeBron. It may seem arbitrary, but there's always a reason why we're placing the color where we are. Goto: All of them have the welded dubrets on there, too, with the "East" and "West" subtle touch. Rogers: That's something that you're going to see from Basketball as a performance category. That welded dubret allows us to put that Signature-level touch on there, but we do it in a very lightweight manner versus a metal piece of jewelry that could add an ounce to the shoe. 
Above: Eugene Rogers (left) and Erick Goto.
Do you guys have a favorite element or aspect of these All-Star shoes? Rogers: Definitely not, 'cause I just asked for all of the Signature ones! [laughs] They're too hot right now. Goto: I really like the Kobe and LeBron. I think my favorite part about this whole thing is that I can totally rock 'em after the All-Star Weekend. I think they're just fire, period, without having to say that they're for a special occasion. I would wear the LeBron ones, even though I'm a Kobe fan. [laughs] I still like LeBron. Rogers: And even KD, you know, he's got ice like you've never seen before, and these are crazy. Goto: You're coming off of the Creamsicle, but this red is even brighter, and then you've got this really cool clear outsole. Rogers: In the past, we've done something for every player and every player had their own expression, and it ends up being that you see nothing because everything is so different. We wanted to make sure that when you're tuning in for the game or if you're sitting up top, you're definitely going to notice what we've brought to the court this year. NDP: It was different in years past, too, when everybody had their own team uniforms, and now they have a common jersey for all of the players of each team, so that fits more with that. Rogers: Yeah exactly! NDP: Will there be stuff outside of this that'll be worn for things like the Dunk Contest? Rogers: Yeah. NDP: Is LeBron doing it or no? Charles Williams, Nike Basketball Product Line Manager: We shall see. [laughs] In terms of LeBron actually taking part in the Dunk Contest, one of the things that we're starting to look at a lot closer is that as much as we're inspired by the athlete, we try to lead and inspire them. We figure that if we can come with an unbelievable story around the products for the Slam Dunk Contest, then that will inspire him to want to do it even more-so. If we just give him anything, what inspiration is that? But if we really give him a story as compelling as the Nate Robinson piece, then that actually can inspire the athlete, and that's a big goal for us. Rogers: Everything that we start with always starts out with the research and the storytelling aspect, and we really geek out on that. Just even thinking about the number of stars, there's always those touches. Anything that we can get from an athlete in terms of what they're thinking about automatically sends us down the road towards somewhere new. Then, the kid can learn something new. To read the full interview with Erick, Eugene & Charles, be sure to check out Sole Collector's Issue 32, hitting newsstands right around All-Star Weekend. Nike KD2 -- $95 
Nike Air Max LeBron VII -- $160: 
Nike Zoom Kobe V -- $130: 
Nike Hyperize East -- $125: 
Nike Hyperize West -- $125 
