Idolator

Seems like a late April Fool's to me. I do like the 'Step Inside' touch even if that refers to Closer.

And when you're in them, YOU CAN DAAAAAAAAAANCE!!

Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance! Dance! to the radio!!

Next: Depeche Mules.

Then: The Killing Joke Espadrille.

Followed close on by the Theatre of Hate "Mandal."

as much as i appreciate the "novelty" of this, i can't imagine this being for real. although i wouldn't mind scoring a pair of these shoes provided they are a reasonable price.

@Ned Raggett: I thought so, too, until I saw this. So if it's a prank, it's an especially well-played one.

@Brian Raftery: The most inadvertantly worrying part of that link is this:

the very worthwhile Cancer gig at the MEN (Gallaghers / Ian Brown / Paul Weller etc)

This is no prank. A prototype of this same design was created for Nike a while back.

http://www.cerysmaticfactory.info/joy_division_trainers.ht...

Personally, I like the box better than the shoes.

Will they increase your hang time?

So where exactly would you wear these? Who exactly would you be trying to impress? More than likely, anyone old enough to reasonably remember Joy Division as a functioning band would EXACTLY "kick Peter Hook in the nuts". Agreed. However, this is obviously some misguided horseshit marketing campaign much like the Minor Threat/Nike fiasco (remember that?) to get Hot Topic clowns to waste more time and money trying to establish credibility by name-checking shit they couldn't even begin to comprehend. After all, it's easy to impress upon the woefully dumb. New Balance--in some strange way--gets the point.

You know what'd be really cool? If that graphic were the tread pattern, so every footprint you left would be the death scream of an exploding star.

I'm pretty sure I saw a whole bunch of NYU kids wearing these on the lower east side last weekend. Fortunately, they were all kicking each other in the nuts.

Um, Peter Hook is an awesome bassist. I would probably kick Bernard Sumner in the nuts first. Eesh...those lyrics.

When the dish is too hot,
You'll never guess what.
I've got Joy Division oven gloves.

It was her desire
I put my fingers in the fire.
Cos I've got Joy Division oven gloves.

I've got Joy Division oven gloves.

Ooh, ooh, tropical diseases.
Ooh, ooh, chemical alarm.
Ooh, ooh, I'm a little blasé.

In me Joy Division oven gloves.
In me Joy Division oven gloves.

Half Man Half Biscuit called it:

http://cobweb.businesscollaborator.com/hmhb/audio/041116%2...

@Jude: If you read the New Order board (and the Nike board), you'll see that these are custom-made designs -- a 3-D version of Worth2000-style Photoshop wizardry. The designer bought the sneakers and then remade them. The designer, not the shoemakers, is making the connection between footwear and Joy Division and arguably doing so in an artistic way. (@Jack Fear, I completely agree about the treads.)

By contrast, Nike Skateboarding was promoting its tour events. Nike's commercial use of the MINOR THREAT trade dress and imagery (without permission) was the problem. Nike was directly looking to profit from the implied (but non-existent) endorsement of its skateboarding activities by Messrs. Mackaye, Nelson, Baker and Preslar. (Self-promotion alert -- I wrote a lengthy analysis of the Nike / Minor Threat situation when it happened nearly 2 years ago.)

The difference is subtle -- the designer may be looking to make a name for himself through this type of work. But he's not manufacturing these in bulk or promoting his work as the official footwear of dead men, dead bands, or people who deserve a swift kick in the pants from time to time.

You're forgetting one prong of the legal analysis: The Nike/Minor Threat ad was just lame.

There's no business like shoe business...