The urban community’s passion for sneakers

The combination of fashion and music is now a winning one and goes straight to the heart of generation Z, which during the two days of the Plug-Mi event (on the 10^th and 11^th of September) in Milan was able to breathe urban culture with the most creative innovations from the world of art, sport, and fashion. In the background, of course, was live music with performances from stars of the rap scene, from Shiva to Rhove, from DJs Slait & Miles to Planet Funk. But above all, to reiterate the uniqueness of this event, organised by Fandango in partnership with MICAM Milano, is its format which, unlike other international events, hosts companies with their brands and not collectors who usually resell shoes at exorbitant prices. In the spotlight, of course, were the shoes; presented by ambassadors, special guests, influencers, TikTok-ers and artists who have customised the models through designs and serigraphs to make them unique and unrepeatable. All punctuated by sports performances with tournaments, show matches, basketball competitions, and skate sessions with a ramp of over two metres.

Italian brands too, not just international big players

Alongside Reebok, Adidas, Converse, Nike, New Balance, Puma, and other well-known brands, there are Italian companies with equally well-known brands. Thus, some models of W6YZ (Falc Group) have been customised by four artists from the Custom Shoes collective, while Flower Mountain, the Japanese lifestyle brand also from the Marche-based company Falc, draws inspiration from the hiking world and also offers variants with faux fur uppers. Mattia Trotta, a wrought iron artist, has recreated the Kotetsu model which in Japanese means armoured ship.

Lotto presented a series of Lotto Leggenda 22 shoes, which celebrate the heritage of the brand with the possibility of customisation by the Italian designer Morris Spagnol who, through Pollock-style dripping, colours the upper. The Lotto NYC collection of unisex lifestyle clothing is also bold.

Plus, whose watchword is customisation, offered the opportunity to have a live experience starting with the white sneaker which, through special Japanese machinery on the stand, was screen-printed and transformed in its appearance. The Plus project, launched in 2020 and headed by the Venetian company Seriplanet, consists in the production of only white ‘Made in Italy’ sneakers which are then “garment dyed”, offering stores the opportunity to create limited editions of their own. The triumph of uniqueness!