Blazers

Sahdir Ellis from Sofly Customs entered the Atomic Burst Nike Blazers in the ongoing 2009 Clash of the Customizers. Ellis was a winner in the first round by default as the competition forfeited, allowing Sofly Customs to reach the second round later this month. You can check out Sofly’s competition in the Clash of the Customizers at the website linked here.

The Atomic Burst Nike Blazers stem from the designer’s interest in the overwhelming force of atomic bombs. Ellis used burgundy and orange hues to symbolize the colorful aftermath of an atomic explosion. The burgundy Nike swooshes set against the orange middle panel and heel wrap are striking. The interior side of the Atomic Burst Blazers feature billowing clouds in yellow, orange and red that shroud the bomb’s impact point.

The middle of each heel features the haunting image of a mushroom cloud produced after an atomic bomb impact. The heel tag shows sullen characters who appear to have survived the explosion with a little luck and some gas masks. Even though the Atomic Burst Nike Blazers won by forfeit, I think that the work of Sofly Customs would have competed against the best customs in the tournament. You can get in touch with Sofly Customs today at the website linked here if you want to learn more about the designer’s other customs.

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D@ Prince Customs has returned with another hot custom posted originally at the Nike Talk thread linked here. The prolific designer focused on MLB’s reigning champion Philadelphia Phillies when customizing these Nike Blazer GS. The MLB Champ 08 Nike Blazer GS celebrate the team’s success in 2008 through the wonders of sneaker art.

The base layer of the MLB Champ 08 Nike Blazer GS is white with red stripes running perpendicular to the outsole. D@ Prince added the World Series Champions logo on the exterior of the left shoe to show Philly’s recent success. The exterior side of the right shoe features the familiar cursive lettering on the Philadelphia Phillies uniform.

D@ Prince left the toe boxes white and painted the Nike swooshes red to break up the pinstripe pattern on the middle panels and heels. After months of grinding out great customs with cartoon themes, D@ Prince is back and better than ever with the MLB Champ 08 Nike Blazer GS. You can reach D@ Prince Customs at daprincecustoms@gmail.com if you want to celebrate your favorite MLB team in sneaker form.

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TTK customized a pair of Air Force Ones in honor of presidential candidate Barack Obama back in October shown in the MAS post linked here. After President Obama’s inauguration in January, the designer decided to customize a pair of Nike Blazers to honor the country’s first black president. You can find additional information on customs by TTK from the designer’s website linked here.

The TTK Obama Blazer IIs are white with faded red stripes running across the middle panel to the toe. TTK painted the heel tag and tongue blue to create the red/white/blue colorway of the American flag. The designer created two portraits of Obama just above the Nike swooshes on both shoes. Obama looks thoughtfully into the distance on the left shoe and flashes his smile on the right shoe.

While I loved the TTK Obama AF1s back in the heat of the campaign, I think the Obama Blazer IIs are superior due to the designer’s mastery with American imagery. The mingling of red, white and blue behind Obama shows that TTK is not just a customizer but a sophisticated sneaker artist. If you want to see more of TTK’s work, you can check his original Obama AF1s at the post linked above as well as page 91 of April’s issue of Vibe.

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D@ Prince was asked by a client to create hot customs for BET’s Spring Bling, the network’s spring break event. He turned some basic Nike Blazers into the Bio-Leopard Nike Blazers to meet the client’s requests. I found these photos at the D@ Prince post linked here.

The Bio-Leopard Blazers get their name from the bright leopard print used across the shoe. The neon green background allows the black spots to jump off the shoe. D@ Prince matched the background green with the shoe laces to ensure that his client would stand out in the Spring Bling crowd.

The designer went beyond the obvious shock value of neon green with pink Nike swooshes and tongues. The Nike swoosh darkens from pink to purple as it heads towards the heel, culminating in a purple Nike logo on the heel tag. While D@ Prince was bracing for critiques from the online sneaker community, I can see where he was going with the Bio-Leopard Nike Blazers. I may not have chosen such bright colors if I were the client but D@ Prince did everything his client wanted with his own twist.

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D@ Prince revisited Kanye West’s album Graduation but gave it a little twist on the Nike Cement III x Graduation Bear Blazers. These custom Blazers use the bear on the cover of Graduation but outfit him with a pair of Jordan IIIs rather than Nike Air McFlys. I found these photos at D@ Prince’s MySpace page linked here.

The exterior of the left shoe shows the wide-eyed bear with a shark approaching from the rear. D@ Prince painted the bear again on the right shoe, this time running casually from heel to toe. The Graduation Bear Blazers also feature lyrics from the first song, “Good Morning,” with “Scared of the future” on the left shoe and “While I hop in my DeLorean” on the right shoe in white lettering.

D@ Prince showed a great deal of creativity in customizing these Nike Blazers. His commitment to the Jordan III theme along with the Graduation theme shows that he can juggle the rigors of customization without sacrificing quality. Since the client is a fan of Kanye West and Jordan kicks, the Nike Cement III x Graduation Bear Blazers must be the best of both worlds.

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The Graduation Bear Blazers were born when D@ Prince Customs was asked to create a hot pair of sneakers for a client heading to graduation. While other designers have used Kanye West’s Graduation as a muse, D@ Prince got creative in trying to separate his kicks from the pack. These photos were found at the designer’s latest Nike Talk post linked here.

D@ Prince used a pink backdrop similar to the color used in the album font rather than resorting to the evening sky backdrop on the album. On the right heel, the designer painted the soaring graduation bear from the album cover. D@ Prince added his own touch to the Graduation theme by creating a bear on the left heel clad in pink camo cap and gown.

The Graduation Bear Blazers will evolve into a second version to be posted in the near future. D@ Prince’s liberal use of pink was moderated a bit by the clouds in the backdrop and the camo stripes on the graduating bear. I enjoy the Graduation Bear Blazers and can’t wait to see what D@ Prince does in the second version.

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D@ Prince Customs was asked by a friend to customize a pair of Nike Blazers to celebrate the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics. The result was the Beast of the East Blazers, an ode to the Boston Three Party’s fantastic 2008 season and its fast start in 2009. I found these images at D@ Prince’s Nike Talk post linked here.

D@ Prince painted Boston in big block letters along the right shoe to set the tone for these Blazers. On the left shoe, he drew a fantastic likeness of the Celtics logo next to the name Rey Rey. The most impressive aspect of the Beast of the East Blazers is the green/gold colorway used on the Nike swoosh and eyelets. The gold four-leaf clovers set against the green backdrops on the eyelets and swoosh show D@ Prince’s ability to create finely detailed images without breaking a sweat.

The designer is a Sixers fan but he was able to set aside this Eastern Conference rivalry in the name of sneaker art. D@ Prince Customs set the price of the Beast of the East Blazers at $150 and finished these shoes in no time. If the Celtics can finish off the 2009 NBA Finals and repeat as champions, D@ Prince’s client will have no problem laying down that kind of money for these great sneakers.

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