Footage
Sydney is full of style-obsessed sports addicts who invest large amounts of effort and money on ultra-rare trainers to add to their box-fresh collection. Paul Greguric is one of them. Meet his dealer...
The search for rare, cool trainers has become an addiction for some
Sitting in a store completely surrounded
by sneakers makes me feel
calm. To the untrained eye, each of
these shoes look pretty similar, but to
the aficionado, they’re not.
I got into trainers from collecting
basketball cards as a kid. I loved how
cool the shoes looked on the NBA
players’ feet, and began to appreciate
the individuality of each sneaker.
Man, I miss basketball cards.
The fascination with sneakers can
often become an obsession. At its
extreme, it can dictate holiday plans,
with the express purpose of trawling
rare trainer shops in Tokyo or New
York or London for the exclusive
limited edition releases. Thankfully,
Sydney has its own treasure trove of
trainers by the name of Footage – a
dealership on Burton Street, not far
from the corner of Crown and Oxford
Streets in Darlinghurst. Footage supports
a culture that feeds off individuality
and self-expression, by providing
styles and colourways imported direct
from the US and Japan that are inaccessible
to the rest of the city.
The store sits alongside other
clothing boutiques that form a mini
streetwear district, which was owner
Phil Koh’s vision when he opened his
shop in October 2003.
He wanted to create a community
of cool, a block of stores where
people could come and find items
that are not necessarily available elsewhere
in a city bursting at the seams
with mass-produced apparel.
This vision has blossomed with
the subsequent opening of the
Carhartt, Feit, Supply and An:other
stores, as well as the Outré gallery,
in recent times.
The aesthetics of the store are
clean and crisp with completely
white surfaces detailing the store
from shelf to counter. This polished
look places greater emphasis on the
products that are on display.
There is no branding on the walls
allowing each product to share the
limelight. As for the kicks the store
stocks; as well as being unique to
Footage the selection on offer is quite
varied. Sneaker aficionados can
obsess over Nike, BAPE, Converse,
Alife, Vans, Puma and Adidas – to
name just a few. By providing a
healthy range of styles Phil ensures
that the shoes available appeal to a
broad range of people.
Though Footage’s focal point is
their range of sneakers, they also
carry clothing, sneaker-related accessories
and collectable toys that reflect
the eclectic mix of clientele.
It’s a casual store that encourages
folks to drop buy and chat, while
looking through the range. On any
given evening you fi nd Phil and his
mates hanging out on crates outside
the store, chatting.
They’re open till 7pm most days,
they don’t bite and they sure do know
their trainers, so stick your head in.
Footage, 13c Burton Street,
Darlinghurst 2010 (02 9332 1337
www.footage.com.au)
Kat Hartmann – www.kluster.com.au