What's good for JJJJound oughta be good for everyone else, right? If nothing else, at least a few other designers oughta get a pass for making the simplest sneakers on the market.
Hey, I'd even say that 1LDK has more justification for issuing collaborative Reeboks of the ultra-boring variety, if only because the Japanese retailer does so much with so little.
It doesn't hurt that 1LDK also has much more going on as a store but let's get to that later.
Yes, I'm referring to the several pairs of JJJJound x Reebok sneakers that epitomize ultranormality. Not that there's anything wrong with a simple shoe, mind you, but that it's old hat from JJJJound at this point.
Can't say it hurts my feelings to see attractive, subtle shoes but it certainly doesn't get my heart pounding, either.
But that's just my bias showing. I don't have anything against JJJJound, really! I just really love 1LDK.
1LDK is one of several mid-size indie boutiques operating across Japan, this one part of I.D.Land Company alongside several other stores, restaurants, and hostels.
The gimmick with these stores is that they have the budget to bring in a vast selection of international and domestic brands under one roof, accompanied by a healthy selection of in-house brands that're actually quite cool.
1LDK mixes mfpen, Hed Mayner, and Jacquemus with Digawel, DAIWA PIER39 and Comoli, a strong selection of stuff that's extremely cool and extremely understated.
Its own clothing lines, boasting simple names like "My," "I," and "Universal Products" — which designed exclusive socks just for these Reeboks — are meant to be effortlessly worn every day, mixed and matched with the other cool stuff stocked therein. 1LDK's Reebok sneakers fulfil the same purpose.
The previous 1LDK Reeboks, a very similar pair of Club C 85s, match the new Classic Leather sneakers in their straightforward design.
Simple, versatile color palette, quality materials, subtle branding in the little Reebok window. Simple as.
Available on 1LDK's web store and physical locations for ¥14,300 (about $95) from October 22, the Classic Leather sneakers are inadvertently part of a developing trend wherein retailers' collaborative Reeboks are barely changed from the original.
But 1LDK's shoes aren't merely a hyped drop but a multipurpose design with various uses. They're a staff uniform, for one, and a physical manifestation of the retailer's understated brand ethos.
They're doing a lot with a little, as all good shoe collabs ought to.
