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Trainers to invest in

There's serious cash in footwear

Trainers to invest in
17 September 2010

In these hard up times, investors, businessmen, and the elderly are all looking to place whatever spare money they have into something with a guaranteed rate of return. With stocks and shares not showing any signs of stable growth, and interest rates with no interest on them, there are a few other places you can pour your hard earned cash into, namely footwear. We spoke to Gary from Crooked Tongues to find the five trainers that you should be snapping up and stashing away.

Adidas ObyO KZK MINTOS K-Vulc Mid - £95

ObyO stands for Originals by Originals—an adidas project that brings a few adidas fans and famous faces with a specific vision, including Jeremy Scott, David Beckham and in this case, Tokyo-designer Kazuki Kuraishi. Kazuki's. This mix of Campus, and the classic Superskate was released in very limited numbers, but somehow went under-the-radar, and will be fully appreciated and coveted in the not-too-distant future.

Main image: Crooked Tongues

Nike Sportswear 'Hamptons' Air Force 1' - £120

There's been thousands of takes on this early '80s silhouette over the years. Some have appreciated and some have depreciated in value, but this one needs to be handled to appreciate the quality of materials used. White on white is a trademark colour for this shoe, and this just pushes that concept to the limit, making a street level, disposable variation makeup of the shoe into something more collectible.

Main image: Crooked Tongues

Air Max 90 'Infrared' - £90

This shoe can't stay away. Most of the time reissues of reissues of reissues don't hold a lot of weight. On his model's debut in this makeup two decades ago it set a precedent in terms of colours that's never been topped since - it still causes feverish excitement when it lands again and becomes instantly covetable. That can be attributed to the looks, the fact a 1990 pair would turn to dust if you tried to wear them and because they're pretty easy to dirty up. The Air Max 90 is a particularly safe bet.

Main image: Crooked Tongues

Adidas Originals x Star Wars "Droids' Top Ten Lo - £75

It's hard to ascertain as to who takes things further in the nerd stakes—trainer geeks or sci-fi geeks. These let the two worlds collide, taking an adidas model that was introduced in 1979 and tested by ten key NBA players of the time (hence the name) and celebrating C-3PO and R2-D2's robo-bromance with an oddball split-colour design as part of this year's adidas x 'Star Wars' rollout. The Kenner/Palitoy-style blister packaging ups the collectability here.

Main image: Crooked Tongues

Adidas Originals ZX 800 - £70

This is a slightly more offbeat choice—adidas Originals are bringing it when it comes to old favourites at the moment. The ZX running line changed running design as we know it and also resulted in a series of state-of-the-art pub and terrace favourites for those adverse to exercise. This 1986 design has been reissued again and again, but this more rugged version is the right mix of '80s and '00s aesthetics. It's the quiet ones you've got to watch out for from a collectable standpoint, and this is a slow-burner.

Main image: Crooked Tongues