Apron Records drops some kicks
The two color ways available of the 180’s.
By now, we’ve established that sneakers are what makes the world go round, right? And if we stand behind this as the ultimate truth, then it’s pretty safe to say that Music is what fuels the movement.
I personally catch a bit of slack at the office (friendly banter) because I’m an avid over-ear headphone user, I understand that it can seem a bit antisocial, but music helps me stay on task, (and what can I say, sometimes, I do need that extra bit of isolation). But music is a constant. I spend so much time on music, I would love to see how it all balances out at the end of the year in terms of time listened to music vs time without music. From shooting concerts, to time on different platforms, or simply listening to records at home. My Spotify unwrapped is pretty crazy as is!
And music is inherently human, and has been a part of makeup since we were able to move beyond primal instincts. Rhythm is something we’re drawn to, when we’re on the road running, pushing that extra kilometre with legs burning, we look to focus on our breathing “step, step, inhale, step, step, exhale” - we create a cadence through rhythm that helps us get through it. So its no surprise that companies like Nike, have always celebrated that link to music.
Now, working with artists is one thing, and, truth be told, low hanging fruit (Terror Squad, Travis Scott, Billie Eilish, and a very long etc.,) as they are public-facing, but Nike has gone above and beyond in many cases collaborating with not only (incredible) artists, but also record labels themselves.
The Air Force 1 in collaboration with Roc-A-Fella (shout out Biggs Burke) is celebrated as one of the best AF1’s to ever hit the market. So when we heard Nike was back at it, tapping into some of the smaller labels, we were nothing short of excited here at La Flame HQ.
And when we heard Nike was tapping into a neighbour of ours from London, I started to get super excited (fun fact: did you know that the separation between London and Amsterdam is only 357 KM - roughly 222 miles?!). In comes Apron Records.
Apron Records is an independent label that was founded 11 years ago by none other than Steven Julien - the epitome of the “/“ persona; defining him under one discipline would be an injustice. He is an Artist/ DJ/ Music Producer/ Manager/ Video Producer/ Fashion connoisseur (although this last one he would never use to describe himself). But the road to Apron, although somewhat predictable, was not as straightforward as one would think knowing Steve.
He started off as a dancer, moved on to rapping with a hip hop group, but realised that on the mic, his talents would not shine. His inner creative was still drawn to music. He was curious about beat-making, so he started to dabble. Recording cassettes, experimenting with drum machines… falling in love with making music in the process.
For Steve it was always about friends, he started making beats for friends, this led to DJing in his kitchen, this turned into making beats at barbecue’s and parties, which eventually led to him dropping his first EP in 2009, under Elgo Records; another independent label from the UK. And it seems like this was the real turning point for Steve. Up until then, music hadn’t been the main source of income for the young creative: he had a barber shop in a salon owned by his aunt, but in 2009, after the release, it was time to focus, and give music his all.
And it worked. Although Apron Records would still take a few years to kick off, he was able to focus solely on music and cement what would turn into Apron Records.
So in 2014, after spending some time working on some disco edits, Steve reached out again to Eglo Records to see if they would be open to release another EP. But Alex Nut (the man behind Eglo) said that the risk was too high - after all, releasing an EP based on samples does carry risk of legal repercussions. But he did push Steve to venture out and do it on his own.
Steve started reaching out to his close friends to get the insights on how to kick the project off: Kyle Hall (Wild Oats Label) for insights on pressing and distribution, and then went straight to the brokers, cash up front. By the third record, Steve made it clear: Apron was here to stay, and it was all about friends and family.
Since then, Apron has become a global brand in which quality curation is held to the highest standard, testament to this is the Air Max 180’s that dropped last week in collaboration with Nike in which all details, materials and storytelling are present.
The sneaker is a work of art. Beautiful long-suede panelling topped with premium leather hits across the upper. The swoosh: cow print, the heel: metallic hits and croc leather with the embossed Apron logo, the laces: thick with beautiful metal lace locks, a dubrae in the shape of a razor that ties to Steve’s origins in the salon. But for us, one of the key highlights that makes this sneaker maintain a lot of balance given the heaviness of the materials is the tongue: extra thick.
The sneaker dropped in two colorways last weekend: the bloodline colorway as a UK exclusive and the Vortex, which had a bit of a wider distribution, but was still very hard to get a hold of.
