Anniversary sneakers are common practise in circles of great magnitude, especially when topics boast elements of immense orbital weight - such as New Jersey’s Packer teaming up with Italy’s finest slice of 2015 Diadora.
Back in ‘95, Raekwon dropped ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’ going on to take the hip-hop world by storm; even to this day it remains a classic dose of audibly technical brilliance, ear nectar if you will. Beyond the shoe, Packer threw a party to commemorate bi-decade celebrations whereby Raekwon rolled-up to New York’s iconic S.O.B. in no less than a fittingly customised purple ice-cream truck in line with one of song’s on his tracklist.
It goes without being said - shoe boxes were signed and head bopped in synchronicity, life was taken back in time by 20 years and everything seemed oh-so-simple. ‘90s hip-hop was a force to be reckoned with, a period boasting unrivaled lyrical architecture through a multitude of mediums, including that encapsulated within a PURPLE TAPE.
Diving into Diadora’s design process, we bore witness to ‘1995’ replacing a typically seen ‘N9000’ outstep embellishment in tandem with ‘1’ and ‘2’ on either heel, relating to corresponding tracklists splashed across both insoles - tape side 1 and tape side 2, of course!
@Raekwon designed these in the company of @krxone, which led to a 1-of-1 being produced five years later exclusively for the man himself; completely alleviating any need for a box by means of his own bag, and very slight changes across both feet.
