Shoe connoisseurs, this one’s for you. The past few years have undeniably seen our favorite shoe companies reaching into their respective vaults and reintroducing all the classics. Whether it be Jordan with its relaunch of the Jordan Retro I from Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”, Nike with the “White Men Can’t Jump” Air Flight Lite or Reebok with its timeless Pump series, the past is fueling the future when it comes to the newest kicks.
However with all the old styles coming back, there is one in particular that really got this child of the 90s excited: LA Gear’s reinception of LA Lights. That’s right kids, dust off those Starter jackets and get ready because as of December of 2009, LA Lights will make their long overdue return.
Back in the early to mid-90s the LA Lights line exploded on the kid’s shoe scene, and then just as quickly disappeared off the face of the Earth. With the rebirth of the Lights in 2009, LA Gear is selling their classic to those same kids during their college years.
The difference is that the reinvented line finally comes out in adult sizes whereas they used to be only available in kids, something that previously killed off any hopes of reselling or redistributing the shoe.
And that isn’t the only improvement made. The new Lights are supercharged compared to their predecessors, not so much that they’re obnoxious and over the top, but definitely noticeable. Instead of the old Lights’ small blinking lights in the heel and midsole, the new Lights have a luminated heel that has a crazy strobe, giving a hot laser lightshow effect. The new design is also sleeker and less boxy, making it a solid sneaker beyond just the initial appeal of the strobing lights.
I posted a video of the LA Lights at LA Gear’s recent tradeshow in Vegas, giving you a little sneak peak of the new designs.There looks to be an array of color schemes both in the shoes and the lights, and they seem pretty tight. Personally I think the blacks with the green soles and neon green strobe are ridiculous, and I’m ready to snag a pair. Again look for these guys to be hitting stores around Christmas time.
LA Gear also brought back their Unstoppable line last year to solid reviews, so if you can’t wait on the Lights you can find LA Gear shoes at Sportie LA in Los Angeles, The Tannery in Boston, Raggamuffin in Brooklyn, and a few other select stores and cities.
Kade Krichko
