360 DEGREES Weblog

Converse does an excellent job presenting timeless premium versions of its All Star Chuck Taylor sneaker. For Holiday 2011 they present the All Star Premium Leather in both high top and low top versions. The high top in brown leather, seen here above, looks beautiful. Another great new style is the All Star Leather Shearling, featuring a warm fur lining. All new styles are now available in the Converse online store.

Nike Toki fans have great reason to rejoice as a Premium iD version is now available for customization on Nike iD. This Toki style is a deconstructed version and it can be done up with some very tasteful leather color options. It also comes with the option for square-cut leather laces and a premium leather sidewall. Now that’s a lot of leather! Baroque brown and Monsoon blue are looking especially nice, what colors are you guys feeling?

A solid looking new pack of three sneakers has released from the Converse Holiday 2011 Collection. The Coated Canvas Pack consists of the the Chuck Taylor All Star Hi, the All Star Classic Boot and the All Star Classic High. All three come with waxed cotton uppers, keeping the rain away from your feet. Small leather details and hiking boot eyelets add to the premium winter appeal of the three sneakers, that are now available from the official Converse online store.

It seems like Bottega Veneta is looking for some better ways to market its leather goods, as their creative director Tomas Maier has now decided to enter the world of music. Collaborating with Paris-based DJ Michel Gaubert on Intreccio Uno, the two-disc compilation album will feature an assortment of songs from all their runway show and store playlists. A special holiday tread, the CD will include pieces and numbers from French pianist Maxence Cyrin, English rock group The Heavy and Norwegian producer Lindstrøm (“Lovesick” was a played at the Fall/Winter 2010 womenswear show).

The case of the disk will sport shots from the Bottega Veneta Fall 2010/11 advertising campaign.

For free previews, just like the Intreccio Uno Facebook or just go to the brand’s website. Priced at $45, the CD can be quite a fun Christmas gift for a brand conscious fashion lover.

If you live in a part of the world where winter isn’t just a season but a challenge to be conquered, then you’ll appreciate the Penfield Summit Parka ($320). Roughly equivalent to wearing a sleeping bag over your torso — but far better-looking — the down parka was first released in the 1970′s and has remained a classic ever since. Available in five colors to the lazy general public, this custom-made “Race for the Summit” edition — in Uncrate-approved orange with coyote fur hood and special 70/30 fabric — can be yours if you’re up to a challenge

Italian eyewear brand SUPER gets together with the Cool Cats gang from Paris, run by Pedro Winter of Ed Banger Records, Ed Banger art director and artist So Me and Michael Dupouy from LaMJC.

Taking the design cue from the Cool Cats logo, the concept is to bring the cat’s (logo) sunglasses to life. SUPER worked with the Cool Cats design team led by So Me. The result is a hand-customized carnation of the much-loved W silhouette, the linear ‘retro-futuristic’ member of the SUPER family. The shades were meticulously hand-crafted, reproducing a life-size Cool Cats logo, achieved by skillfully inserting the silver stripe by hand one-by-one, thanks to the cooperation of the experts at Carl Zeiss. The arms feature delicate silver inscriptions and the Cool Cats logo is displayed on the outer arms, winking in the sunlight.

They come in shiny black and matte black and are available from SUPER and Cool Cats.

Following Kanye West and Jay-Z’s embrace, Givenchy has been all the rage in the hip-hop world lately. This new tee that incorporates the American Flag into the Givenchy logo looks to be another hit. Now available through Mr. Porter.

Denim on sneakers is something that can come out really nice, yet also something that can turn out pretty bad. In the case of the upcoming Spring 2012 Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Premium Denim Pack, things have been done right. Consisting of both low top and high top versions of the iconic sneaker, Converse applied washed out premium denim fabrics to the upper in a series of colors. That matched up with leather toe caps, leather details on the front of the sole and waxed laces, makes for a well executed premium sneaker pack, that you we look forward to.

Merrell continues to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Not only colette and Stussy have reworked on the Wilderness Boot for the occasion, today Dover Street Market has also announced their limited edition version. The limited edition boot comes in a premium leather version with blue mid-sole and matching laces. The boots are now in stock at Dover Street Market London.

While the shoe looks rather simple at first, the head turning Christian Louboutin addition cannot be missed – this new lace-up shoe from the Men’s Fall/Winter 2011 Collection features a metal toe cap with wingtip details. Look out for a release soon. (