kicks/hi x sig zane = (red)

the most anticipated island collaboration of the year is finally making its debut tomorrow. yep, after all the waiting kicks/hi + sig zane release their spin for the (converse) red collection on saturday. it's so cool to see local designers getting involved in the (product) red campaign and getting some well deserved exposure and a little media love.

in case you didn't catch bono kicking off the campaign on oprah last year, red is all about raising funds to help fight the aids epidemic in africa by giving you, the consumer, a painless way to shop a tad more consciously.

basically, whenever you choose to snap up limited edition red chuck taylors/ipods/razrs/etc over the standard issue, the participating company donates a portion of sales from that product to the global fund which is fighting the good fight by purchasing life saving medication that our fellow world citizens would otherwise not be able to afford.

the kicks/sz converse design features a handprinted 'uluwehi keaukaha print (in honor of the tree planted on son kuhao's first birthday) and is only available in men's sizes 5-13 (including half sizes; fyi - for the uninitiated, chucks are a unisex style so refer to the size chart to determine the corresponding w's size). there will also be a baseball cap in the same colorway.

no doubt these are going to be very popular considering there will be competition between sneaker collectors, converse fans, and folks who want to support local designers so remember that they will only be stocked at the following locations (in addition to the sz online shop):

• hilo: sz shop & the cutlery | honolulu: kicks/hi - makaloa shop | wailuku: sz shop
• chicago: saint alfred

more from sig zane

sig zane is kicking off the new year in style! i love the koi tee which is a new take on the second design the illustrious mr. zane created back in 1978.

students of the hawaiian language may want to snap up this aloha shirt which donates a portion of its proceeds to the ke ana la'ahana charter school. the design is currently 25% off but act quickly since there are only a handful left in the smaller sizes.

ke ana la'ahana ki'ikau

sig zane x kicks/hi

a clearance section also recently made its debut in the online shop so click over asap if you have been daydreaming of splashing down rainy streets while twirling one of those lovely umbrellas i wrote about back in november.

finally, 2007 brings a much anticipated collaboration with kicks/hi (word is one of the projects is with converse for bono's [product] red campaign). first up is the uluwehi keaukaha cap which is being released tomorrow. this is a limited edition so if you want to score one get yourself to a sz shop, kicks/hi in honolulu, or the cutlery (kuhao zane's new shop in hilo) on saturday.

sneaker pimps

i have a feeling that the fella's favorite shop when we hit the islands this summer will be kicks/hi. this is the place to go if you love sneakers. and i'm not talking about your kids' keds but super cool kicks for sneaker aficionados looking to score limited edition, old school style sneakers.

they have even collaborated on limited edition sneaker designs like the aloha dunk with nike. the masterminds behind kicks hawaii are pchs grad ian ginoza & his friend eddy haus who opened up their first shop a few years ago and recently opened another location at the new ward gateway in town. online shopping isn't available yet so if you're not lucky enough to live in (or visit) hawaii hopefully you're near saint alfred, their sister shop in chicago.