Hanon gives us a first preview of their upcoming collaboration with Clarks. They worked on the Ashcott in two colorways. Entitled “Keep on Burning” the UK store seemed to have used some of their sneaker background on the casual footwear of Clarks. The result we can hopefully show you soon. The shoes will release June 2010.

hanon offers a detailed look at their new Asics GT-II collab dubbed Northern Liites.

Our approach to this style was inspired by the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, a natural light phenomenon that occurs at night throughout the Winter in the northern hemisphere. For those lucky enough to see it, the dark skies are transformed from black to a multicoloured light show.

The initial northern lights idea stemmed from the familiar Asics tiger claw stripes on the upper and how well we felt they would suit the concept. From there we applied an upper to reflect the night sky and some additional details to complete the theme. The shoe make up is a mix of premium suede, full grain leather, air flow mesh and scotchlite overlays. The multicoloured tiger claw stripes depict the ribbons of light created by the aurora borealis whist varying grades of black to white on the upper reflect the dark sky.

Some additional features to the shoe include a scotchlite application to the tiger stripes, a night sky heel counter and translucent panel on the outsole.

Lastly, the woven hanon ‘Keeps On Burning’ label celebrates our 20th anniversary and is inspired by the imagery and slogans of Northern Soul, a musical following born out of the north of england in the late sixties. Much like the sneaker enthusiasts of today, we liked the connection of the passionate collector whether it be a rare 45 or that pair of kicks that can’t be found.

The release date for the Northern Liites is Saturday April 10th 2010 at hanon, with a global release on April 17th at selected doors.

More images of the hanon x Asics GT-II “Northern Liites” follow.

This summer a collaboration between Asics and Hanon will be released. The GT-II was inspired by the location of Hanon and is entitled “Northern Liites”. Reflective materials and Scotchlite application underline the theme used in the collaboration. Hopefully we can soon show you more.

More teaser images of this collaborative project follow after the jump.

Last weekend we gave you a detailed preview of the Hanon VCMP Project. Today we give you some more background information on how it all came together.

Since we do not come across many collaborative projects these days that go much beyond wanting to create a product, but rather have a strong message behind the project and communicate something in a meaningful way, we took some time out to sit down with Chris Johns to talk about how the VCMP Project came about.

Highsnobiety: Hi guys, can you give you tell us how the project started? Who had the idea, what was your inspiration?

Chris Johns: The idea for VCMP came from Reebok designers Christopher Torres (now working elsewhere) and Chris Johns. The project started in November 2006 as a simple discussion about a Vanity Fair article Chris Johns had read. The article, written by Henry Porter, was both shocking and enlightening. It described how disturbing things were in the UK vis a vis an erosion of privacy rights and civil liberties. It also detailed the proliferation of CCTV’s and other ways to monitor the public. Torres thought we should create a project bringing light to the subject, and we went from there. Without him seeing it as a viable idea, it would have ended there.

HS: The project involves lots of partners. How did you choose the collaborators?

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

In the previous post we gave you the complete rundown of the Visual Countermeasures Project (VCMP), involving Hanon, 6876, Call of the Wild, Reebok, Henry Porter and Nino Leitner. We previewed the Reebok Stomper and the 6876 Jacket from the project and here we continue with a closer look at the collaboration, which also involves a Call of the Wild T-Shirt.

The 100% organic cotton tee by Call of the Wild features a screened chest graphic specially designed for the VCMP project, as well as VCMP special edition statement tag and Call of the Wild branding tab. Limited to 60 pieces, the t-shirt will be released along with the Reebok Stomper and the 6876 Jacket on February 25th at Hanon.

Detailed images of the t-shirt follow after the jump.

In the previous post we gave you the complete rundown of the Visual Countermeasures Project (VCMP), involving Hanon, 6876, Call of the Wild, Reebok, Henry Porter and Nino Leitner. We previewed the Reebok Stomper from the project and here we continue with a closer look at the collaboration, which also involves a custom 6876 jacket.

The Capandula’s distinctive curved double entry pockets utilise Ri Ri Aqua zips which are also used in a two-way opening method for the centre front. This lightweight but robust jacket is the base for the VCMP design featuring woven Tessitura Molteni Palmira Italian water resistant fabric and a scotchlite hood trim detail designed to mask the users face from photographic flashes at night. Not only a solid jacket, featuring all kinds of high quality tech details, it also perfectly translates the ideas of the entire project into a piece of clothing.

The 6876 Jacket from the VCMP Project will be released February 25th along with the Reebok Stomper and the rest of the products from the project at Hanon.

Detailed images follow after the jump.

A “Big Brother” culture, fuelled by technology and fear, is an expanding element of today’s world. This is especially true in Britain: the proliferation of CCTV cameras to monitor citizens movements, new state imposed limits on freedom of speech, and a serious erosion of individual privacy rights are all now commonplace.

The Visual Countermeasures Proejct (VCMP) is a multi-disciplinary 2.0 collaboration which aims to shed light on these crucial issues and encourage debate. VCMP speaks to individual freedom for all, for privacy, and for free speech.

Over the years we have reported about hundreds of collaborative projects, mostly because we are interested in the fusion of at least two different designers/brands and it that outcome. VCMP certainly takes the idea of a collaboration further and does not only impress with a strong line-up of product, but most importantly with a strong message behind the entire project – a message that raises some critical questions in our society.

Participants in the project include Hanon Shop, founded in 1990 in the UK by Brian Toft, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2010. Brian put together an impressive group of brands and people in order to make the project happen. They worked with 6876, Call of the Wild, Reebok, as well as novelist Henry Porter and film director Nino Leitner. Leitner is about to release a movie at the Austrian film festival, dealing with the exact issues of CCTV cameras and their consequences in society, making this an incredibly round project overall. Check out the trailer of the “Every Step You Take” movie here below.

First we present you the Reebok Stomper of the collaborative project, with the other product to follow afterwards. The Reebok Stomper was originally produced for director James Cameron’s 1986 sci-fi blockbuster Aliens and worn by the main character Ripley throughout the movie.

Not widely available and the purpose of the Stomper has always been a mystery it was the perfect silhouette for the VCMP project. It features a full reflective Scotchlite upper, full velcro fasten design and general dark look. The sneaker will be released February 25th along with the rest of the project and is limited to only 60 pairs worldwide.

Detailed images of the VCMP x Reebok Stomper follow after the jump.

After showing you yesterday the video of the production of the Hanon x Eschler x New Balance “Bionic Project”, we can finally show you the outcome of the collaboration – a pack of New Balance 576’s.

For this latest release they looked to explore the possibilities of connecting a performance fabric to an icon from the New Balance archive. This project sees the classic M576 running shoe reworked with Ceramic E3+, an innovative material developed by Eschler.

“Ceramic printing”, a special innovation by Christian Eschler AG of Bühler/CH, is a polyurethane-based coating embedded with diamond-hard ceramic particles. This particularly environmentally friendly innovation is completely free of solvents. Furthermore, the ceramic particles remain permanently embedded in the polyurethane. The main characteristics of the fabric are significantly higher wear and abrasion resistance than regular fabrics

The Bionic Project comprises of two M576 styles. Each model has a fully customized upper with featured detail that is unique to this release. Both have been manufactured at the world famous New balance Flimby factory and constructed with premium material sourced from across the globe. Look out for a release at Hanon and other premium retailers soon.

More detailed images of the two sneakers from the Hanon x Eschler x New Balance “Bionic Project” follow after the jump.

After Overkill, Concepts and SneakerFreaker, we present you today a first look at the upcoming collaboration between hanon and New Balance, entitled “The Bionic Project”. The Bionic Project is a 3-way collaboration comprising of two archive New Balance styles that incorporate a performance textile by Eschler of Switzerland. hanon had the opportunity to go to the New Balance Flimby factory in the UK to check out the production process of the sneakers.

Another video follows after the jump.

Following North America and Europe, we now have a look at Europe’s offerings for the Reebok Pump 20th Anniversary campaign. Reebok worked with 24 Kilates, colette, Hanon, Patta (pictured), Size?, Solebox and SNS on exclusive Pumps. 31 pairs of each will be available this weekend.

A detailed look at the full Reebok Pump 20 lineup for Europe follows after the jump.