LE COQ SPORTIF X LACED ZENITH BANANA BENDER

As names for collaborations go, this one for the latest project between LE COQ SPORTIF and LACED has got to be one of the strangest… LE COQ SPORTIF X LACED ZENITH BANANA BENDER! But there’s a great story behind it…

Built on a base of Optic White mesh and High Rise Grey suede, the predominantly-maroon overlays on here nod towards the maroon war paint that sports teams from Queensland, the home of LACED, don when going into battle. Hits of Grenadine on the quarter panel and the hallmark cockerel logo add some pop alongside the accents of Pool Green that echo the original ZENITH colourway. Underneath, the midsole is finished in a crisp white, whilst a very on-trend gum outsole rounds it off. The insoles share the colours from the upper in a seemingly abstract design that mirrors the Brisbane river – one of the city’s most defining features. To finish things off, the heels feature an embroidered LACED logo on the right foot, whilst the left dons a bright yellow banana, which arguably looks a little out of place without some explanation! To clear things up the guys at Sneaker Freaker sat down with their fellow Australians to find out a bit more about their first collaboration and where the odd nickname comes from…

SF: So tell us about Laced. This is your first co-lab, you must be frothing.

Yeah we’re stoked! It’s our 9th year this year and we’re just happy to still be around and to be able to do cool stuff like this. We’re a small independent boutique that specialises in limited sneakers, streetwear, toys, collectibles and lifestyle goods based out of Brisbane, Australia.

SF: We’ve seen a lot of the Eclat and Flash the last couple of years, but you’ve gone for the Zenith. What do you like about the shoe?

The Zenith is one of our all time faves from Le Coq. The shape is dope and they look great on foot. You couldn’t get the shoe for years, so when they put it back on the burner we jumped on board straight away. We reckon it’s super underrated so we wanted to give it some shine.

SF: What came first – the colourway or the concept?

The colourway came first; but I kinda had the concept in mind. Maroon is Queensland’s colour, the footbed shows the Brisbane River and where our shop is and the banana was actually one of the last pieces in the puzzle. The brighter colours on the shoe are a nod to the 1980s era the Zenith came out of. The concept is really an introduction to Laced and where we’re from. It’s our introduction to the world. We love sneakers. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we like to have fun with it!

SF: Can you explain what a banana-bender is? Despite the popular nickname, Queensland farmers don’t manually bend their bananas. Bananas are negatively geotropic, meaning they grow away from the pull of gravity, dropping down initially then gradually turning upwards, hence the bend. Considering this pull of gravity notion more metaphorically; what else, other than this dope colab, is Laced doing differently from the rest of the street wear industry this year?

A ‘Banana Bender’ is a Queenslander! It’s an old nickname given to us by our interstate neighbours from Sydney and Melbourne. It’s kinda like a joke about our general laid-back attitude here in Queensland. We’re pretty chilled. The saying goes that, ‘Queenslanders have nothing better to do than sit around putting the bend in bananas.’ We’ve got a lot of bananas up here. Queensland farmers are responsible for something like 90% of all Australia’s bananas.

This year we’re reinventing our line-up. We can’t give too much away, but right now we’re working on our new website, so look out for that. We’re also paying more attention to our own brand. Oh, and more special projects like this one!

SF: Women often miss out on collaborations, as smaller sizes are frequently ignored. You’ve stocked up on dainty sizes of the Banana Benders though, was this because you’ve noticed a demand from women for retro runners at Laced?

Yeah we wanted to show some love to the female sneaker freakers, for real. It seems every colab they get skipped and miss out and we have to deal with the complaints. [Laughs] Just jokes. But seriously, now’s your chance, ladies! Girls love bananas, right?

SF: I’ve heard rumours, yes. Any final words?

There’s only 666 pairs of the Banana Benders, so make sure you get yours March 28th! Get some Banana Benders up ya!

The LE COQ SPORTIF X LACED ZENITH ‘BANANA BENDER’ releases at select retailers on SATURDAY 28 MARCH and we will have all the info you need up on our RELEASE PAGE, so make sure to check back with us in a couple of weeks.

Interview source: SNEAKER FREAKER