Anybody can be a sneakerhead, all it takes is a passion for the craft (and maybe a stack of cash or two.) But it takes serious skill, dedication and knowledge of the craft to be a "baby" sneakerhead. No, we're not talking infant geniuses with personal credit cards. For the latest installment of our Highsnobiety TV series, we invite you to meet Jeff Leung, Hong Kong's preeminent baby sneakerhead.
As you could expect, the world of baby sneaker collecting is far more niche than its adult counterpart, which means that hunting a pair down takes considerably more effort. Leung began collecting sneakers while in college, but it took several years before making the switch to the smaller-sized footwear. Though he currently has two children, this switch was instigated by a more practical need for space and storage; the smaller the shoe, the more storage size left over.
Now Leung is over 200 pairs deep into his baby sneaker collection, which is roughly half of his adult-sized counterpart. Though it is difficult to play favorites, he admits that if he had it his way, each of his baby sneakers would be Jordan 1s. But that dream is of course easier said than done, as an infant-sized pair of those bad boys can retail for over $1000. And what do his actual children think about their Dad's sneaker collection? His son who stuck around for our interview fired back with an answer in no time: Jordan XI, in black/white, please and thank you.
For previous installments of our Highsnobiety TV series, click right here.