ToyCyte: Toy Culture Collected

Hats off to Kix-Files for a ton of clear, artistic (and watermark-free!) images of Michael Lau’s latest sneaker/figure foray. Sunny posted some puzzle pieces about the figure here, but now, as David Duchovny is probably sick of saying: the truth is out there. I’m not really a sneaker junkie, so pilfered pics are almost exclusively of the fig. I find padded walls and insane asylums…intriguing in a lunatics are taking over kind of way. Except in closeup (which is better), the kicks kind of look like something retirees in Florida wear to go on walks around their assisted living facilities. Not sure what my thoughts are on the figure yet. Visit Kix here for the full editorial. Courtesy of Kix:

Nike and its long-time collaborator, pioneering toy designer Michael Lau, teamed up again to create the Nike Air “Crazy” Force 1 sneaker, the ninth launch in the Nike 1World AF1 Project featuring a total of 18 influential style leaders in sports, music, art and design.

Nike Air “Crazy” Force 1 Exhibition
Dates : November 29 – 30, 2008
Place : Michael Gallery
11/F., Lok’s Industrial Building, 204 Tsat Tsz Mui Road, Quarry Bay
Time : 3:00pm – 8:00pm

Nike Air “Crazy” Force 1 Boxset
Location : Michael Gallery
Available : November 29, 2008 (Saturday)
Location : Nike Sportswear Store, 7 Pak Sha Road, Causeway Bay
Available : December 3, 2008 (Wednesday)

Lau’s Nike Air “Crazy” Force 1 is a wearable quilted tribute to sneaker-loving craziness. Special design features include:

• an upper-shoe made entirely from white padded leather with white quilt-patterned stitching;
• a back heel detail with a series of five x five-count scrawls in gold, to pay tribute to the 25th anniversary of Air Force 1;
• crafted polished shoelace tags, with “CRAZY” written on the left foot, and “SMILES” on the right, honoring Lau’s infamous “Crazy Smiles” production series;
• a removable white sole insert with abstract pencil scribble art.

True to the legendary collectible style of all Michael Lau creations, the much-hyped highlight of this piece is its special packaging: a boxed set featuring a pair of Nike Air “Crazy” Force 1s and a “Crazy Michael” vinyl toy figurine.

To launch the Nike Air “Crazy” Force 1, Lau converted his MICHAEL GALLERY in Hong Kong into a voyeuristic-gallery experience. Guests can walk through a long white tunnel with quilted walls, where 25x peepholes allow them to look into “animated art pieces” created by him. “We’re all a bit crazy when it comes to sneakers,” says Lau. “This project is very special to me because the 1World AF1 Project has allowed me to honor the legacy of Nike Air Force 1 in my own crazy way.”

The set priced is priced at $2599 HKD or about $335 USD.

About 1 World AF1 Project:
Nike’s 1World AF1 Project is a partnership project between Nike Sportswear and 18 influential style makers from around the world. Each illustrious participant was invited to design his own Air Force 1. Since June 2008, the 18 shoes have been — and still will be — selectively released in limited numbers, available only in the city where the guest designer is from. The 1World AF1s released so far have been designed by Rasheed Wallace (Philadelphia), Pedro Winter (Paris), Gore Texer (Tokyo), Kaws (New York), Questlove (Philadelphia), Daisuke Matsuzaka (Tokyo), Ladainian Tomlinson (San Diego) and Hajime Tachibana (Tokyo). This month sees the launch of design by Michael Lau (Hong Kong).