And1 2012 footwear and product presentation (read: Sneak Previews!)

[Shoe Session – 10.17.11] – And1 2012 footwear and product presentation (read: Sneak Previews!)

Inks and Images: FLASH aka g_sk1lls

Greetings, And Juans. Last Saturday (October 15, 2011), I was invited by Relzbach Ventures, the local distributors of the And1 brand in the Philippines, to join their semi-annual sales conference and product presentation for 2012 collection. Now I already had an idea that representatives (read: bosses, executives, head honchos) from And1 USA, Australia, Spain, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia were present since Friday night, but I was absolutely surprised and thrilled to be actually INVITED to join them for the product presentation and lunch (at the Manila Peninsula Hotel along Ayala, Makati) and dinner (People’s Palace in Greenbelt 3).

As soon as I got in the conference room around 11AM, there was only one word that I can use to describe the experience – WOW. It was my 1st time to join such a meeting, and from the personalities inside the room to the apparel and footwear that were shown for 2012 preview, so pardon me if I was blown away.

(With Rob Purvy - Executive Director for And1, Rod Keller - Director of Brand & Sports Marketing

& Bob Bachmann of Relzbach Ventures)

Now let’s start with the apparel line-up. I got in at the tail end of the apparel presentation (the actual shirts, shorts, jerseys, jackets, etc were on hand for inspection and public viewing), but what I got to see was still pretty good. For one, the trash talk tees are coming back with The Player aka Faceless Raceless featured with trash talk text on the back print of the shirt (remember those?). Some of the shirts had the graphic in the front and the classic And1 logo in the back, but even if they were interchanged, all I can say is “NOSTALGIA baby”. I used to rock those back in early 2000’s and seeing them back for 2012 was really sweet.

I also got to preview other shirt designs, and according to Alejandro Lesaola of And1 Madrid (Spain) who was in charge of the apparel presentation, there will also be a new set of team jerseys + shorts with matching sweatpants already available in some parts in Europe (I’ve seen some in And1 Germany, if I’m not mistaken) and hopefully Relzbach gets to distribute those locally. They can market it further by offering practice jerseys with matching shorts in school colors of local high schools, colleges, and universities in the Philippines for better brand recognition.

I really liked the fact that the And1 apparel line for 2012 seems to have really got it back on track after a few hits and misses with their designs in the previous years, and there are even some jackets and sweat pants that feature simple looks (And1 logo) but the material and the feel of the clothes really make up for it. Can’t wait for those to drop.

On a side note, check out the And1 trash talk graphic tee that I got as a gift from Dan Dougherty (image below). Now that’s really cool, simply because that shirt isn’t even available in local retail yet..at least not until 2012. :)

Now let’s talk about the footwear. The And1 shoe line up that I got to see before we had to take a break for lunch was really strong. And I mean rock-solid, SHUT-DOWN-the-gym kinda strong. Now while I can’t post images of those yet (the kicks that I saw were samples with different colorways per model, and all came in size 9s. I wear 9s, so I was in shoe heaven). Hopefully Rob Purvy and Rod Keller would let me post something for all y’all to see very soon (end of the year, eh boss?), but trust me on this.. it’s gonna be FIRE.

Here are some notes on what I saw, held, and almost (yes, almost) got to try on:

- There will be low cut versions with the current And1 ME8 Empire Mid tooling.

- Saw a Steve Blake PE but not in Lakers CW. The Laker CW was recently featured in SLAM though (D.Rose cover, October).

- Saw a ME8 PE, in Away Golden State Warriors CW (of course). I want one. Like now.

- Speaking of ME8, Monta’s got a NEW LOGO. I can draw it, but I’ll be shot if I did. LOLs. The current ME8 Empire Mid is awesome. Surely, there should be a sequel right? *winks* BUILD YOUR EMPIRE, the tagline says. Right.

- Straps are back. Not all silhouettes will have them, but yeah, straps are back. And they look dope too.

- Some silhouettes seem to have been designed with big men in mind. That means high tops, better ankle support, and more-than-sufficient cushioning especially in the heel area. These might be available locally with more stocks from Sizes 12 and up. Big men will be happy with a couple of pairs due to be released soon.

Right after we had lunch, I had to excuse myself because I had a previously-scheduled game in the afternoon. Got back to the hotel around 6pm, talked shop with Joe Kawai of And1 Japan and the other peeps and man, got a ton of insider info that would be posted in future articles soon.

For now, check out some of the few images that I got to snap on that day (which isn’t really much), and will update this blog with additional images c/o Relzbach.

If you want more And1 news, updates, and, shoe sightings/sales on the fly, follow us in Twitter (@and1ph) and LIKE us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/and1ph). Also feel free to e-mail us at and1pinas@gmail.com, send us images of yourself rocking And1 gear/footwear, your personal And1 collection or even your own mixtape. We might post that in the fanpage or even publish a blog article about you.

And that's the 411, And Juan.

Props to Relzbach Ventures, Inc. (And1 local distributor) for the invitation.

Dinner with [L-R] Rod, Rob, Peter of And1 AUS (CEO),

Joe Kawai of And1 Japan, Dan D (thanks again for the shirt!) and Bob.