You might never have owned a pair of Buffalo London’s platform sneaker-boot hybrids. But if you picked up a music, fashion, or youth culture magazine in the 1990s you will remember the ads: monumental Buffalos front and center, black-lit club-kitted models crouched behind. The ads were channeling the scene where the boots first blew up – the rave and techno explosion in mid-1990s Frankfurt – but it was the Spice Girls that marched Buffalo’s platforms into the mainstream, towering 10cm off the ground. These were shoes that make the still-trending chunky “dad” sneakers of the last few seasons look svelte. Shitkickers as good for the club as for the Y2K apocalypse.
When Buffalo London relaunched a line of unaltered classics a couple years ago, a new generation embraced the rave-era treads. This time their popularity is about more than goths or girl bands: they represent the excitement of the underground and the creative potential of the hybrid. (One continuity: who doesn’t want to look taller?)
So how do you elevate the world’s loftiest sneaker? Buffalo London by 032c takes the material route, combining 6cm of Buffalo’s signature industrial-grade sole with luxury leather uppers that nod to the equestrian-inspired boots of Europe’s heritage brands. True to 032c Ready-to-Wear’s fusional ethos, where experimental clubwear meets high-end womenswear, Buffalo London by 032c’s Jodphurankleboots and Over The Knee thigh-highs look great at the rave – and at the end of the world – but also at the cocktail party, the conference, the studio. (You’ll certainly see them around the 032c Workshop, which combines most of the above.)
For the campaign, 032c fashion director Marc Goehring tapped our sales director Nunguja Kislaya and photographer Vitali Gelwich for a studio shoot in Berlin. The resulting visuals channel the up-close energy of the original Buffalo London print ads, and update the look with clothing from the latest 032c Ready-to-Wear collection.
Buffalo London by 032c styles were teased on the runway during the first 032c Ready-to-Wear fashion show, which took place at 180 The Strand in London in late 2018. Today, they launch globally, after an event in London last night at Brown’s East.
At their store on Alte Schönhauserstrasse in Berlin, Japanese footwear mainstays Onitsuka Tiger held a Japan-themed mini festival to herald the arrival of the OK Basketball MT and the OK Basketball Lo: two new shoes inspired by the groundbreaking design that ignited the Onitsuka Tiger brand almost 70 years ago.More
Omar Epps is a 21st century Renaissance Man. After an early life rapping as part of hip hop crew Wolfpack in Brooklyn, New York, the young Epps followed his talent into acting alongside Tupac Shakur in Harlem drama "Juice." Now a father of three who recently published his first book, "From Fatherless to Fatherhood," versatile Epps was tapped by basketball and streetwear retailer KICKZ, who have partnered with Champion for a limited capsule collection, Never Not Ballin', on the occasion of their 25th anniversary.More
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🚨 ATTN BERLINERS! 🚨
Berlin – January 22, 2021, 13.00 (CET)
If you spot the 032c “20 Years” Mobile LED Billboard Truck on the street in Berlin today, post a picture and tag @032c on Instagram. We will reach out to you with a special gift!
SCROLL for more info 👀👀
For REFERENCE FESTIVAL #2 032c presents our new “20 Years” anniversary edition, celebrating the magazine’s first two decades in print with a lush selection of images from the latest issue’s special 28-page fold-out. Accompanying the visual essay are archival videos showcasing 032c’s ready to wear and cultural production and highlights from the media and fashion brand’s core inspirations – from its guiding principles as a manual for “Freedom, Research, and Creativity” to Italian philosopher Antonio Gramsci’s essential call: “Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.”
Also visible via the REFERENCE REALITIES virtual platform, today – Friday January 22 – the project will be broadcast throughout Berlin on a physical four-screen mobile LED truck, bringing 032c’s past and future vision to the streets of our hometown.
In 032c Issue #38, we celebrate our first two decades with a 28-page fold-out chronicling our evolution from DIY Berlin to the world of ready-to-wear, featuring commentary and a timeline of global 21st century cultural production by tech and media arbiter NEW MODELS, a visual audit by VIRGIL ABLOH, and a message from ANNA WINTOUR.
