Late last week, Nike sued Los Angeles-based streetwear brand Warren Lotas, claiming that Lotas was “currently promoting and selling fakes of coveted Nike Dunks.” At issue are a number of recent Lotas releases, some of which Nike alleges are “confusingly similar” to coveted Dunk iterations. Nike is seeking damages and to prevent the Lotas editions -- even the already pre-ordered ones -- from hitting the market.
Lotas, for his part, has said that the releases will be “fulfilled as promised” and that he was prepared to “do what it takes to remedy the situation amicably.” As of press time, however, the Lotas shop was closed for business.
Steven Smith has designed sneakers at nearly every major shoe company. He worked for New Balance on the iconic 574 and 1500 models, designed the Instapump Fury for Reebok, and spent 10 years at Nike. He’s now a Design Director at Yeezy Lab. This week in Otis Magazine, he talks design, the future, and the epic fights to bring his shoes to market.
Read: "When People Get Out of My Way, I Can Create Magic:" The World According to Steven Smith
Vikki Tobak is a curator, cultural journalist, and producer who was the force behind Contact High, a sprawling endeavor that traces the impact of hip-hop through the imagery that chronicled it. The book, which came out last year, has since been turned into exhibitions at LA’s Annenberg Center of Photography and New York’s ICP, with more to come all over the world. She sat down with The Backstory to talk about Jesus pieces, dookie ropes, and how hip-hop jewelry personifies individualism.
Listen: The Backstory Podcast: Curator Vikki Tobak Learned Individualism from Hip-Hop Jewelry
• The $30 million art collection of Hester Diamond (aka Mike D of the Beastie Boys’ mom) is going up for auction.
• The banned-by-the-NBA APL sneaker is back and even bouncier.
• The Brooklyn Museum is selling off even more blue-chip art (while the Baltimore Museum of Art faces renewed pushback over its sales).
• Five artists reimagine designer Paul Smith’s most iconic objects.
• The 25 most influential pieces of protest art since World War II.
• Some big changes are coming to the DC Comic Universe.
• The first-ever Punisher cover art has surfaced and is being valued at $2 million.
• Kobe Bryant’s finals jersey is now in the Smithsonian.
• As the art market goes online, its notoriously-opaque pricing is becoming more transparent.
• Doctor Strange will make an appearance in the next Spider-Man movie.
• Perrotin Gallery is giving away a Murakami as part of a Paris treasure hunt.
• A KAWS-customized Sacai LDWaffle is being auctioned off for charity.
• A new, confirmed Banksy has just surfaced in Nottingham.
• You can now buy the Felipe Pantone x Ken Block Gymkhana car.
• There’s finally a release date for the OFF-WHITE x Air Jordan 5 “Sail.”
• A mini version of Kehinde Wiley’s ‘Rumours of War’ was just installed in Philly.
• New Nike documentary “The Story of Dunk” celebrates 35 years of the iconic staple.
• LeBron James sat down with the NYT to talk about his nonprofit, More Than a Vote.
