bythelevel, Author at BY THE LEVEL

Converse ‘One Star Pro’ – New Colourways

Posted on July 17, 2015July 17, 2015 by bythelevel

Last month saw the return of one of the Converse ‘One Star’, one of the brands most iconic styles since it’s initially release back in 1974, resurfacing as an updated skate ready pro shoe in two colour options. This week saw the introduction of three additional colour ways in the hugely popular silhouette as red, off white and navy joined the staple black edition.

The low-cut shoe features the brands iconic star logo, drawn from the Chuck Taylor’s famous ankle patch and placed into the mid-foot panels. All colours feature tonal lacing and piping, except the off white option which features complimenting red on the piping and white laces. The functionality arrives in the shoes lightweight lunarlon sock-liner which provides cushioning upon impact, the memory foam gusseted tongue that stabilises the foot and the grippy gum rubber outsole. Aside from the technical updates, little has been done to the look of the shoe, keeping it as close to the original as possible and because of that, it remains a highly wearable classic.

The Converse One Star Pro is available now at selected retailers including Slam City and Parlour Skate Store.

Supreme x Nike SB ‘GTS’

Posted on July 15, 2015July 15, 2015 by bythelevel

In a timely release, following the Wimbledon buzz of the last few weeks, Supreme lift the lid on their latest collaborative venture as they team up with Nike SB to rework the Nike GTS (Great Tennis Shoe).

The GTS was originally introduced back in 1993 as a tennis shoe from Nike’s Sportswear department, but was also promoted as an ‘off court’ shoe for the lifestyle market. Thanks to its low profile silhouette, flat chunky sole unit and accessible price point, the style was quickly adopted by skaters in the 90’s, including the likes of Guy Mariano, Pepe Martinez and Drake Jones. We haven’t seen much from the GTS over the last few years, which is surprising considering the resurgence of tennis shoe styles and the shoes rich skateboarding heritage, but in biding its time the GTS is back with a bang this season. As the collab kings have shown in the past, with the likes of the high top Vans Native American, they have a knack of bringing forgotten styles back into the limelight, and for me, this is one of their best efforts yet.

The no-frill GTS has been updated with a hard wearing, herringbone cotton canvas upper and arrives in a variety of bold colour options which include black, white, yellow, red and also a custom denim edition. Each shoe sits on a white vulcanised midsole with black piping detail, small swoosh branding on the side panels and gold embossed Supreme type on the heel. The design is kept simple, no groundbreaking technology or materials, but less is definitely more with these.

To celebrate the release, Supreme and regular collaborator William Strobeck have put together this short promo edit aptly named “Swoosh”, featuring riders Alex Olson, Kevin Bradley, Brian Anderson and Sean Pablo skating the shoes on the streets of Paris.

The Supreme x Nike SB GTS will be available in-store at Supreme’s London location and online from Thursday July 16th.

OWL Skateboards 1.6.1.0 series

Posted on July 13, 2015July 13, 2015 by bythelevel

Bristol’s OWL Skateboards come through with an awesome new deck series and accompanying apparel collection for the Summer dubbed the “1.6.1.0” series.

Drawing influence from the study of Jovian astronautics and the 4 Galilean Satellites, Owl link up with local designer Chris Price to produce these intricate designs and apply them as four linking deck graphics, as well as minimal graphic prints on a concise collection of staple apparel items. To celebrate the release, they have also put together this short promo video made up of a montage of skating, art from the release and vintage footage that showcases themes collection.

The OWL Skateboards 1.6.1.0 series is available now over at www.owlskateboards.co.uk

La Capsule Magenta – UK

Posted on July 12, 2015July 12, 2015 by bythelevel

Bordeaux locals Magenta head over the channel to the UK to sample the rainy streets of London, Bristol and Manchester in their latest video dubbed “La Capsule Magenta – UK”. Filmed by Colin Read and edited by Vivien Feil, the four minute clip features Soy Panday, Ben Gore, Leo Valls, Jimmy Lannon, Zach Lyons, Vivien Feil, Glen Fox and friends of the brand Dom Henry and Matias Elichabehere, skating in the latest Magenta apparel to the voice of Aldous Huxley.

Enjoy the clip below and the additional shots from the tour by Sam Ashley above. Head over to www.magentaskateboards.com for more info on the brand.

Belief Summer 2015 Lookbook

Posted on July 12, 2015July 12, 2015 by bythelevel

Our friends over at Belief have dropped this strong set of visuals to showcase key pieces from their Summer 2015 offering.

Teaming up with hugely talented photographer Derek Wood, the New York city natives head out to the great outdoors to capture the latest apparel styles against the natural backdrop. Throughout their previous releases, Belief have consistently delivered easy to wear styles that draw inspiration from classic street war silhouettes and reference the brands rich skateboarding heritage. Incorporating playful themes and a vibrant colour palette, the Summer release from Belief consists of simplistic graphic based tees, long sleeves, hoodies and a varied selection of caps. They have also expanded their cut and sew offering with mesh basketball jerseys, beach shorts and light outerwear options in the stand out windbreakers which feature nice added touches in the zip compass and patchwork logos.

There is a bit of a 90’s NY sportswear feel to the release, with vintage washes and material applications complimented with bold retro inspired graphics. The release is distinctively Belief and is much of what we have come to expect from the brand, sticking to their roots but continuing to develop and better their line every season.

Enjoy the lookbook above and to find out a bit more on the brand head over to www.beliefnyc.com. The Belief Summer 2015 collection is available now at Urban Industry

HUF footwear present “The Gillette”

Posted on July 12, 2015July 12, 2015 by bythelevel

HUF footwear present “The Gillette”, the first signature shoe release from team rider Austyn Gillette.

The latest release from HUF’s ever growing footwear line follows on from the “Dylan”, the much talked about effort of fellow ‘team handsome’ member Dylan Rieder, that was introduced around the same time last year to a mixed reception. At first glance you would be forgiven for mistaking the Gillette for the Dylan, both opting for a slimline look and referencing a more dressy style, but as you look closer there are differences that appear. Gillette has been fairly quiet over the last year or so, following knee surgery and a lengthy recovery time, he’s now back on the board and has returned with this considered and honest design, as well as a solid video part to promote it. He’s largely respected worldwide for his skateboarding and work ethic, and Gillette’s shoe reflects his style both on and off the board, designed to be versatile and still deliver a performance silhouette that can handle the rigours of skateboarding.

The low profile shape features a hard wearing, full grain leather on the upper with a one piece toe box and minimal stitching. The shoes sole unit shows a slight heel which is a new feature in a skate shoe, however it still provides the same levels of protection and cushioning from the rubber cupsole and molded PU insole. Avoiding any bold details or logos, a subtle H is debossed into the quarter panel while the ‘Gillette’ emblem has also been embossed into the tonque. The shoes tread is also a new feature to HUF’s footwear designs with the flexible outsoles hexagonal pattern only featuring on this signature design for added grip to the board. All round it’s a far cry from Gillette’s past footwear ventures with previous sponsors Habitat Skateboards.

Whether you love or hate the shoe, it brings something different to the table and thats everything we would expect from one of skateboardings most exciting riders. One thing that is undeniable though is Austyn’s skating ability, which is perfectly showcased in the short but awesome promo clip below, following him through various cities including New York, Berlin and Copenhagen. The HUF “Gillette is available at all good skate retailers now including Flatspot. and Slam City.

Be sure to check out this INTERVIEW from the guys at Sidewalk, who caught up with Austyn Gillette prior to the shoes release.

Cote&Ciel x Karma Skateboards – Monsoon ‘Chaos’ Print

Posted on July 9, 2015 by bythelevel

To commemorate Cote&Ciel’s new Monsoon ‘Chaos’ Print backpack collection, the Parisian brand have linked up with British skate company Karma Skateboards to produce a super limited deck series, that also feature the custom print.

The highly functional and lightweight Monsoon backpacks have been designed for urban living, featuring padded shoulder straps for added comfort and a laptop sleeve to help keep your valuables safe. Perhaps the most useful feature is the bags strap adjuster that allows the bag to expand and contract to adapt to your needs, keeping the bag functional yet versatile. The backpacks arrive with the ‘Chaos’ design, in two differen’t colour variations, applied as an all over print. Offered in soft pastel palette with hits of black and grey, and a more darker colour option of a carnelian red and dark onyx green mix, the print uses digital manipulation over paint and pigment, to bring more traditional forms of ‘abstract impressionism’ into modern day.

The stand out design has also been translated onto Karma decks to compliment the pack but also to build further on the idea of urban movement, with skateboarding a key choice of transport for many in major cities. The 10 limited edition decks are made from 100% American maple, grown in managed forests from the Great Lakes in Wisconsin. Each deck is designed and printed right here in the UK to ensure quality in all that Karma produce. You can find out more on Karma Skateboards over at www.karmaskateboards.com

You can shop the Cote&Ciel Monsoon ‘Chaos’ collection over at www.coteetciel.com