Whether Black or white we both like Mike, We both like Jordans, We both feels Nike...

both riding shotgun, both covered in gold like C-3PO"

-Venus vs. Mars, Jay-Z (The Blueprint 3)

I guess Riccardo Tisci and the rest of the Givenchy creative team were bumping the Blueprint 3 when they were sketching out their shoes for the Spring/Summer 2010 season. The french fashion house is coming out with two sneakers, a low-cut and a very high top (more reminiscent of boxing boots than a Dunk high). They're available in gold, black and white. I love the sneakers, perhaps due to my slightly obsession with gold....and Givenchy. If only they came in my midget 5.5 size...

But when I saw them I saw them, I immediately thought of my everyone's favourite cautious, multilingual robot, C-3PO. The gold is almost the same shade and they have an almost Grecian feel to them and when you look at C-3PO's feet, it looks like he's wearing sandals!

It may seem like a bit of stretch, but I find the sneakers to have a very space age, armour feel to them much like a protective robot suit that C-3PO rocked for all six films.

The armour look is nothing new to fashion, though, especially in the last few seasons. Tisci has also been bringing in an air of space age minimalism and strong lines. He called his look for the Spring 2009 season "Western Bondage" so perhaps he is rehashing old ideas with all the straps and cutouts on the kicks. I think it's a great thing that an established fashion house known for more couture than streetwear is in the sneaker game. It could help push the major footwear brands to try something new or even go in the opposite design direction to offer more unique options. When you create a super limited item in a limited edition obsessed area like the sneaker game, you're appealing to a small but dedicated group. Nike hit a home-run with the Air Yeezy's, the Pigeon's highlighted the sneaker culture love affair with limited and Kanye's partnership with Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton how couture and kicks can work together beautifully. So why not tap into that very lucrative market? Also, because they only put out two models and three colourways, they're not taking as big of a chance but still giving themselves building blocks. Supra has taken their Skytop and done it a million ways - from patent to studded, and has rarely mis-stepped. Will Givenchy be to high fashion footwear fiends what Supra is to skateboarder and sneaker heads? Only time  and credit card bills will tell.

Not everyone could rock these kicks, partly for the ostentatious style but mostly because of the price tag. When you're buying sneakers from a French fashion house that become famous for dressing Audrey Hepburn and is now the brand of choice for Rihanna....you know they will be deemed "investment items". Would you rock them?

High fives & booty taps,

Megan

PS. Shoutouts to High Snobiety for posting the story.