Street'ball'wear - about those who fly with balls, who catch 'n' dunk'em

The American phenomenon basketball developed a downright cult around itself even in our regions. Its synergy of power, speed, agility and strength is spreading the fever.

Past summer, more than 14.000 sweaty ballers in 2.300 teams were fighting for points, hoops and victories, without failing in double-dribblings. The figures of this year's fifth "NBA Challenge", the German Streetball-Championship, are talking for itself: An incredible amount of 142.000 spectators let themselves carry away by the flair around the courts of the 8 tour stops. Big talents showed off with fascinating "ball handling skills", tested the Hoops by hook or by crook at the Slam Dunk contest and scored with a fascinating accuracy at the 3-Point Shootout. And what else may cause a better feeling for a player, than seeing the ball scoring without hitting the ring of the basket and with just a decent "Ssssit" making the antagonist freeze. The enthusiasm for basketball is increasing as fast as the feeds of the kids are growing.

For sure the popularity of a Dirk Nowitzki and his actions, like the Nike tournament series "Search for the one" or his dnba.com innovation, are also reasons for the continuous increasing of the clinical thermometer. With his 25 years, he did not just eke a firm place in the hardest basketball-league of the world, he is even known as the best European player, who ever played in the NBA. Here it's getting obvious, that the aim to get discovered is predetermined in the players' meetings. The same status do the "adidas City Games" have, which take place on the deck of converted pack boats on the Berlin Spree. It's a great occasion for over-sea scouts to look for potential candidates for sponsoring contracts.

The history of basketball as a lifestyle-element and part of the Streetwear starts in the middle of the 80ties with idols like Michael Jordan or Patrick Ewing. What a goof it was, ramming his bike in Spike Lee's flashing white Air Jordan in his movie "do the right thing" and therewith activating worldwide heart attacks! At that time, people were kind of forced to wear a NY Knicks Cap with the colour matching Adidas Ewing, to leave a stylish impression in underground clubs. For sure it were the huge brands who brought basketball overseas, but it was the influence of young cultures like Hip Hop, who pushed the style towards Streetwear. The mixture of it didn't only find its place in the States but also in Europe.

Then the brands started to integrate streetlooks into functional ballwear. Finally it were underground labels, their collection and event-activities, who brought the streetlife-courtyard-feeling to the sport and therewith made it more relevant in the streetwear branch. It was partly worked with styles, which were purely known from the street, like the And1 with trashy tags on the shirts. Others like Fubu, Phat Farm, Ecko and Sir Benni Miles established the mix step by step. These brands grew with the players and the worldwide spreading Hip Hop- and Streetball-community.

In this movement, also German basketball players started to create and design fresh and functional ball-and streetwear-collections. For example the Mühlheim-based Mazine-crew, who presented their first collection in 1999, simultaneously with the first "NBA Challenge". Based on their love for basketball and the point of view of a intensive togetherness of streetwear and style, they increased the range to an extend of 300 pieces since then. They also expanded their presence in 8 countries and the market-enter in the states is already prepared. They keep track of the integration of the deep approach of a demanding design in both sections. Converted in experimental Streetwear-Outfits, Loose-Fits and Baggy-Pants out of microfiber and pre-washed Twill, as well as functional basketball tops and overalls. They are making themselves a name with a strong staff at competitions in front of a target-group orientated audience and the marketing focus always based on performance. Through the sport channel DSF Mazine, as well as other teams, became present on television. Holm Riedel of Mazine explains the unfortunately still kind of "step childish" position of basketball in the German media world: "If commercials - then on music channels. MTV made a good compromise, that would be the only channel on which I would send commercials. An other opportunity would be DFS, there they have basketball - the American NBA and these days also games of the German National Team. The games of the European-Championship would be especially interesting, cause of Dirk Nowitzki's participation. But these are not presented by the DSF, they are on the 'legal channels', and their commercials are unpayable for us. Besides, the World-Championship from the USA for example, was commented by a guy, who until then most probably just was occupied with biking sports. That's such an absurdity and after something like that, I really don't even feel for putting my commercial in there anymore."

Under the slogan "if you take b-ball serious" the label of the Munich store Kickz takes a different way. You can find everything fitting to the performance and lifestyle section "by baller for baller", in the store or at www.kickz.com. With Off And On-Court clothes, "refreshing and brave styles in seasonable colours and a little bit more provocation", Niels Jäger from Kickz explains. Furthermore ‚k1x - nation of hoop' gets distributed through Footlocker and chosen stores, which are specialised on basketball. Since about a year the shoe-model "Chiefglider" is out in stores; an innovative performance shoe, combined with a leisure style in different colour combinations. "Every three month, there are new colour up-dates in an limited edition, available up to seize 15, made in Korea. Insider of the branch know that this is equated to a 'Made in Switzerland' regarding clocks" Christian Grosse of Kickz completes. Therewith Kicks forms up against the "Establishment" of the established brands. Since this summer, the "Chiefglider" is used as the official "Rucker League"-shoe at the Rucker Park, the absolute Streetball-Mekka and one of the most legendary open air institutions of the world on 155th street in Harlem/NYC. There they do also play with the k1x-ball, which is "focussing on a combination of stability of an outdoor-ball and the touch of an indoor-ball". Members of the "k1x-warriors" are Ademola Okulaja (one of the top performer of the German National Team) and many other giants of the basketball and Hip Hop- scene like Curse, cool Savas and Joe Budden. Events like the "Ballrocker's Ball" this summer, on which they challenged the Mazine Team to a nightly revenge and a common show underline the strong connection and solidarity among the activists. Links to the subject: www.streetball.co.uk www.streetballzone.net www.msfstreetball.com www.streetballstyle.com

Footwear
Today Streetwear is unthinkable without the basketball-inspired Retro-Look. It recalls styles from the archives of sport brands rather back on the street than on the court. Here some examples of Dunlop, Puma, Vans, Vision and ZooYork. Matching with it, a Champion retro tricots series, called "hardwork classics", will come back next year, including original designs of Shooting Shirts, tricots and t-shirts of NBA legends of the 70s, like for example Larry Burt of the Boston Celtics or the legendary Julius Erving alias "Dr. J" of the Nets, who by the way also jumped around the court with Chucks.

ONITSUKA TIGER - the FAstBREak-Legend
1956, the good old Mr. Kihachiro Onitsuka was sitting at the table and got inspired by the octopus suckers in his salad to invent the revolutionary 'sticky soles' with the model 'Fabre'. An invention for the optimisation of speed, grip and agility, he got a lot of props by numerous NBA players for. Just recently, Daniel Sesu, a streetballer from London, just scored through a spectacular throw in a dizzy high of 8 meters, and therewith saved Mr. Onitsuka a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame. To honour the groundbreaking shoe one more time, Onitsuka Tiger will sell 500 pairs of the original Japan model in red-black this December exclusively on the sneakerpage www.crookedtongues.com. At www.fastbreakolly.com (themed 'make Fastbreak Olly and Afro Octopus shoot the highest online hoop') you can even win one pair of the legendary shoes.

ADIDAS - Sport Heritage
As part of the !s!gned line, Adidas brought back to life its OldschoolStyles of the basketball sector. It combines classic elements with authentic NYC street styles and European design art. The ALIVENYC series came into being in collaboration with the alive crew of the street-culture of the new Yorker Lower East Side and the Scottish designer Kenneth McKenzie. Next to the tailored shirts, there will be pants, t-shirts and accessories, three new retro style sneaker models: the Attitude Hi Double Wide, the Grand Slam and the Top Ten Lo. The version of the Attitude Double Hi is inspired by the basketball silhouette of the original 80s model, with an imprinted surface, in jet-black and royal-colours. The Top Ten Lo comes out as a luxurious incarnation of a shoe introduced in the 70s by some players: with a kangaroo-leather-surface, full-grain leather accents and full leather lining. In a limited edition every model of the element-combination "street, fashion, luxury & authenticity", will be produced 600 times and will be sold in like-minded shops in the States, Europe and Asia. But still they shall become more popular for the global community, than other shoes produced in limited editions. The "Super Ape Star", based on a classical basketball sneaker, was already realised in a preceded cooperation with the label "A Bathing Ape".

CONVERSE - Chuck Taylor Allstar
The first basketball shoe was already produced in 1917. On the food and with the signature of Charles "Chuck" Taylor, the shoe gained a special popularity. Originally black, the Chucks were celebrating its 75th anniversary already in 1992. Until the end of the 60th, 90% of the basketball shoe market was possessed by the simple Canvas shoe. There is no interesting youth culture, weather it is in the past or in the present, which had fear of contact with the Chucks. Punk, skater, teddy-boy or hippie - everybody wears Chucks and that won't probably change in the future either. Therefore it is a steady institution since ever in the streetwear sector.