12 Mrz Store-Guide SNS New York
It has become a running gag: „When are you going to visit New York again?“ friends ask us from time to time. Obviously we love NYC and we try to visit the city at least once a year. But despite our frequent trips there’s always something new to discover. New York is so big, diverse and energetic that it is probably impossible to tick all the things on your bucket list. Honestly, our bucket list is growing longer from year to year. When it comes to sneakers and fashion, New York is the place to be. Brands and stores always try to benefit from the city’s aura and reputation, hoping to benefit from a NYC presence. Part of the truth is that not everyone will succeed. But if you make it here, you’ll make it anywhere as Frankie once told us. Since this January our Swedish friends from Sneakersnstuff have been operating their first sneaker store in the US. And we have no doubt that their fifth location (after Stockholm, London, Paris & Berlin) will be another major success.
The new store is located in the trendy Meatpacking District, which is renown nowadays for its galleries, art exhibitions and designer studios. It’s a creative hub in an already creative city. If you take a stroll on the famous High Line (something which we absolutely recommend, especially during bad weather, because it can be over crowded on a sunny day), you can see the big SNS billboard from there. As the store’s location is a little off the beaten track, some bold advertising probably doesn’t hurt. Open the door and you immediately enter sneaker heaven. Thanks to SNS’s ranking as one of the world’s leading sneaker boutiques, their NYC store can stock all the limited and hyped releases. When we came around in January, there was an in-store raffle going on for the adidas Futurecraft 4D – unfortunately we ourselves were out of luck this time. The store itself mixes modern and old school design elements. There are many plants and wooden shelves for some cozy vibes, on the other hand metallic elements and the concrete floor reverberate a clean urban style.
Although each SNS store is unique there are recurring design themes. Take for example the mix of materials (wood, metal, concrete), the SNS logo on the floor or some of the furniture items. In the NYC store, a smaller version of the „Boost table“ is situated right next to the entrance. And there are again some unique pieces like the swoosh chair that would also fit perfectly into our Sneakerzimmer. Sadly the NYC store lacks the little Erik and Peter figures we have grown so fond of – at least we did not manage to find them. The store’s selection of sneakers and apparel delivers on SNS’s first-class standing as one of Europe’s most influential destinations for kicks and streetwear. The latest drops from Raf Simons x adidas or Y-3 clearly bridge into fashion territory. If you don’t mind the heavy price tags, you can make some decent purchases.
We are pretty sure that New York is big enough for another sneaker boutique. SNS is a strong addition to the city’s vivid sneaker and streetwear community. The location in the trendy Meatpacking District may seem a little tricky at first, but it could turn out a well thought-out decision.
It’s really a little bit unfair. If you’re already big, you’ll probably grow even bigger over time. If, however, you’re a new name in the fashion and sneaker industry, the road to success gets a little more rough. You could use this insight on brands as wells as on stores or blogs. During our last trip to Marseille a friend told us about a new street fashion address. To be honest, we had never heard of the shop’s name before: 
We met Alex, the store’s mastermind, who has a creative and ambitious vision for his new baby. Goudron just opened its doors last February. Since then Alex and his crew add more and more styles and labels to the shop’s collection. By now they already feature (premium) streetwear brands like Drapeau Noir, Black Scale and – as one of the latest additions – Stüssy. For denim lovers Goudron offers styles by our personal favourite Edwin.
Of course it takes some time to get the best accounts. But Alex definitely seems to be on the right track with his nicely done store and passionate staff. We spotted one of the guys wearing some really dope Air Max 95 „The Running Man“ by dutch artist Parra. With such a good taste in sneakers we feel pretty confident for Goudron’s future. Perhaps in one or two years the store will be a well known spot for good streetwear and street fashion in southern France.
When it comes to shoes and sneakers Goudron’s take is one of premium and quality. Besides Y-3 releases like the Pure Boost ZG Knit or Qasa High, we also spotted some Rick Owens releases and Grenson models on Goudron’s shoe wall. Alex’s background in the skate culture shows with brands like Vans and Converse. It’s an interesting selection altogether, mixing different styles for different types of customers. But of course Alex has the ambition to broaden the product range also in this category.
Beyond fashion and shoes you can also find some nice artwork and prints at the store, reflecting Goudron’s broader approach to street culture and fashion. Unfortunately the highly limited Bape and Mastermind chairs that Alex imported himself from Japan were not for sale. But with an eye for such detail the store’s interior sets itself apart from other shops with similar offerings. It’s obvious that the people at Goudron are not salesmen but an already established part of Marseille’s vibrant streetwear scene.
Viktor’s story is also quite intriguing, as he was once himself a customer at The Nextdoor. Now he works in the store and knows many patrons who come by once or twice a week to check out the latest fashion and streetwear arrivals. With a 
The crew’s second store Acte.2 is just around the corner, facing a beautiful little square with many charming cafés and restaurants. As Viktor told us it gets quite crowded here especially during Avignon’s warm spring and summer evenings. From the square it’s nearly impossible to miss Acte.2 as the store is located inside an impressive and old building that was once a public theatre – hence the name Acte.2.
Acte.2
The shop’s clean interior design matches its spectacular outside appearance. It’s also an interesting mix of old and new. Equally divided over two levels, high fashion connoisseurs will most likely find themselves spending more money at Acte 2 than they had anticipated prior to entering the store. We loved the 
Alban and Gabrielle from Acte.2/The Nextdoor’s creative online team kindly granted us an insightful „behind the scenes“ look into some of their projects. We even discovered one of our old stickers on their working desk. As we were told, the 
As you will imagine, we couldn’t leave either store without some nice pick ups (yes also a pair of sneakers, guilty). We left with a smile and the feeling that the story of The Nextdoor/Acte.2 has just begun to unfold. You don’t need to live in New York, London or Tokyo to visit some of the currently most stylish and elaborate fashion/sneaker-stores out there.
Gute Traditionen sollte man beibehalten, finden wir. Wie schon im letzten Jahr wollen wir Euch die Adventszeit mit mehreren Gewinnspielen zusammen mit Top-Sneakerstores versüßen. Den Auftakt macht der 
Verlassen wir nun das alternative 
Tag 1 (Dienstag)
Das vergangene Jahr bildete bei adidas den Auftakt zu einer Reihe innovativer Designansätze, die versuchten, klassische Silhouetten und Modelle neu und moderner zu interpretieren. Der ZX Flux ist hierfür sicherlich das bekannteste und erfolgreichste Beispiel. Auch den Tubular überführte man in die Sprache einer neuen Sneaker-Generation, wozu sich alte Fans und Tubular-Nostalgiker durchaus kritisch äußerten. Auch der Einwand, die neuen Tubulars seien die solide Sparversion der auf Fashion ausgerichteten Y-3-Kollektion, war immer wieder zu hören.
Ich konnte mich mit den „neuen“ Tubulars bislang auch nicht so ganz anfreunden, zumal es von adidas mit dem Energy bzw. Ultra Boost, den Superstar-Sondereditionen und dem unverwüstlichen Stan Smith ohnehin genug Alternativen gab und gibt. Seit wenigen Tagen sind nun aber die ersten Tubular Primeknits erhältlich (zunächst in 4 Farboptionen, „Stone“ nennt sich der hier gezeigte graue CW). Und diese lassen sich schon auf den ersten Blick als gelungene Weiterentwicklung identifizieren. An die Stelle des eher unauffälligen Neopren-Leder-Obermaterials trat das feingliedrige, atmungsaktive Primeknit. Damit sieht eigentlich jedes Modell sofort hochwertiger und interessanter aus. Zumal wenn es wie hier mit einem Snakeskin-Muster kombiniert wird. Es passiert ganz einfach viel mehr auf diesem Tubular, ohne dass dieser dadurch unruhig oder überladen wirken würde. Eher habe ich das Gefühl, dass hier aus der mächtigen Tubular-Sohle, an die ich mich noch immer gewöhnen muss, und dem feinen Primeknit-Upper ein vollkommen neuer Sneaker entstanden ist.
Wir brechen morgen nach Berlin auf, wo adidas Originals in seiner „Tubular Gallery“ schon mal die Tubular-Zukunft ausstellen wird. Die ersten Eindrücke von der Premiere während der Pariser Modewoche sahen schon sehr vielversprechend aus. Scheint so, als wolle man den Weg in Richtung Fashion weitergehen. Natürlich werden wir auch in einer kleinen Zusammenfassung vom Event und den dort gezeigten Neuheiten berichten.
