I have never had the desire to participate in anything NBA All-Star Weekend related. The last time All-Star Weekend was in LA (in 2011), I lived walking distance from Staples Center and avoided walking anywhere close to it at all costs. Not breaking trend this year, I had zero plans to participate in All-Star Weekend.

T-shirt: YSL Bouche / Jeans: RE/DONE High Rise Ankle Crop (go up 1 size)
Shoes: Madewell x Veja Esplar Embroidered Stars

LA is Poppin’

Since I had not paid attention to anything All-Star Weekend related the past few years, I have no idea if the activities and promotions surrounding All-Star Weekend in LA is similar to those in other cities. It seems like many brands brought out the big guns for this weekend. AWAY did a collaboration with NBA & I want it. But, I don’t travel enough to warrant spending that much on a piece of luggage. Adidas rented out a huge space where American Apparel used to be and hosted two nights of clusterf*ck parties. Nike rented out a huge space on Mateo in DTLA to host their Makers of the Game sessions and shoe drops. Mason Kitsuné had a tiny pop up in DTLA for their collaboration with the NBA. A little random.

Kendrick Lamar – 該死的 (DAMN)

Nothing gets my husband out of bed early in the morning like shoe drops and pickups. We already had a Cortez Kung Fu Kenny (why does it have to be kung fu just because there’s Chinese words?) reservation from the SNKRS app – which guarantees you your shoe. But, we needed to go pick it up. After a scarring, eight hour nightmare picking up Nike Off-Whites from the Undefeated store, he wanted to go early for the 7:00 AM pickup. So, on a non-work day, I woke up at my usual 5:15 AM. We weren’t even the first people in line.

Jacket: Aritzia Molina Jacket / Dress: ASOS Wired Cups Dress (sized up from a US 4 to a US 8) /
Bag: Goyard Cap Vert / Shoes: Nike Air Max 90s Jacquard Gold Trophy

Kendrick, an LA native, performed during All-Star Weekend for Nike. Hence, the DAMN theme.

Nike All-Star Weekend Makers of the Game

Of course, Nike would go big for All-Star Weekend as one of the largest brands associated with basketball culture. They offered Makers of the Game sessions at the Makers HQ on Mateo and at The Grove all weekend. In these sessions, you had a couple styles of shoes to pick from and then many options to customize your pair. My husband got lucky and secured a spot at the Makers HQ to design a pair of Huaraches. So focused on his shoe that he was oblivious of Bella Hadid who was at the table next to him. The next day, we went to The Grove to try to secure a spot for me to customize a pair. The design session itself was ok. Maybe it was because we got a spot on Monday and supplies were thin. It was also so hectic that I left very drained.

My Custom Dip Dyed Air Force 1s

I ended up choosing to have my Air Force 1s dip dyed in their Pink Lemonade color. Since the paint pens they provided were terrible, I didn’t have a chance to draw on it like I planned. But, I really like how the shoe turned out. I had these Makers of the Game fabric tabs that my husband got during his session sewn onto the tongue. The Los Angeles laces were also a cool touch. I originally drew over my Swoosh to try to do a stipple gradient in black. But, the markers were terrible and I had to cover it up. Luckily, a lot of people removed their Swooshes so I grabbed their scraps and glued them onto my shoe. I may take a pair of scissors to the shoes and distress them. But, I have shoe fatigue after All-Star Weekend.

 

What else should I do to this shoe? Draw more on it? Keep it as is & not distress it?
Did I miss out on any cool All-Star events?
Let me know in the comments – I would love to hear from you!