SINGAPORE – Sneakerheads, streetwear mavens and hypebeasts have much to look forward to at Sneaker Con SEA, including the chance to meet the founding fathers of streetwear and get their hands on exclusive kicks.

After a successful debut in 2023 which drew 19,000 visitors, the sneaker extravaganza returns on March 2 and 3 at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS).

Sneaker Con events have been held all over the world since 2009 and are highly anticipated by collectors.

Eight streetwear legends will take part in question-and-answer sessions and panel discussions. They include the Japanese “godfather of streetwear” Hiroshi Fujiwara, Los Angeles-based streetwear collective Carrots By Anwar Carrots founder Anwar Carrots, Dutch streetwear brand Patta’s co-founder Edson Sabajo and Filipino sneaker collector Big Boy Cheng – all first-timers at the event.

Other big names returning for a second year include Singaporean streetwear luminary Mark Ong; menswear collection Staple Pigeon’s founder Jeff Staple, dubbed the “Asian-American Icon of Streetwear”; as well as Tamish Aswani and Giorgi Krisno, the trailblazing Indonesian duo who founded lifestyle label Aglxy.

Attendees can also score prizes in the 40 For 40 Stage Game Spectacular, a popular contest at Sneaker Con events worldwide.

Another highlight is the Trading Pit, where attendees can buy, sell or trade their favourite footwear and apparel.

And, as in 2023, the event will bring together more than 200 international and local renowned brands and collaborations, including the latest trends, limited editions and exclusive drops. Close to 90 per cent of the brands participating in the 2024 edition are new.

Look out for the Kintsugi Air Jordan 1 sneakers, crafted specially for the convention by Ong’s customisation studio and brand SBTG in collaboration with RWS.

Two pairs will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to support students at Temasek Polytechnic, Ong’s alma mater.

The auction will take place at the RWS x SBTG event booth, located within the Resorts World Ballroom, and winners will be announced at the end of the show on March 3.

Also up for grabs is a one-off pair of Singapore-inspired Salomon kicks, a collaboration between Staple and footwear artist Stan Birch. The shoes can be won via a raffle that comes free with every ticket purchased.

Mr Chang Chee Pey, senior vice-president and chief experience officer at RWS, says: “We look forward to hosting an event where our visitors across generations, backgrounds and markets can unite in their appreciation of sneakers and street culture.”

Tickets, priced from $52, are available at sea.sneakercon.com. Exclusive hotel packages with complimentary event tickets for two people are available at rwsentosa.com/sneakercon. The packages include an overnight stay at Equarius Hotel.

Sneak peek

The Straits Times walks down memory lane with three titans of the streetwear scene, who will be at Sneaker Con SEA, to find out which kicks knocked their socks off.

Mark Ong of SBTG

Mark Ong does like not being told what to do. The Singaporean streetwear legend, who also goes by the moniker Mr Sabotage, frowns when an ST photographer asks him to remove his sunglasses for a photo shoot.

“Why should I?” he retorts, before eventually relenting.

The enfant terrible of the local streetwear scene for more than a decade, Ong is internationally known for his transformative designs on famous sneakers such as the Nike Air Force 1 and SB Dunk, and has designed for the likes of basketball star Kobe Bryant.

His defiance extends beyond mere fashion statements. It embodies a deeper ethos of creativity and individuality that challenges conventional norms.

Take his current project: 22 pairs of Kintsugi Air Jordan 1. Two of these pairs will be auctioned off for a minimum bid of $3,800 a pair at Sneaker Con SEA.

Over a span of three months, the 44-year-old painstakingly took apart more than a dozen pairs of Air Jordan 1, acquired from online sneaker marketplace Stock X, to transform them with colourful motifs from vintage bandanas and silk scarves from French luxury brand Hermes.

At Sneaker Con SEA 2023, a pair of Air Jordan 1 Pigeon Fury that Ong designed in collaboration with streetwear icon Jeff Staple fetched a whopping $10,000.

Yet, this may be Ong’s most ambitious project to date.

“It’s our first time working with luxury scarves, so even using a pen to mark the scarves was really nerve-racking,” he says.

This deconstructing and reconstructing process is inspired by the Japanese pottery art of kintsugi, in which broken ceramics are mended with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum, celebrating the beauty of imperfections.

Ong was practising the principles of kintsugi long before he knew what the term represented.

He says: “I collect vintage sneakers. I feel that they have a story to tell. There are always some broken panels, so they’re kind of unwanted.

“But where people see junk, I see potential. I see how I can repair them and make them beautiful again.”

Two years ago, he breathed new life into five pairs of vintage 1986 Nike Team Conventions by weaving bandanas into their design. It was during his search for a suitable name for the project that he discovered the term kintsugi.

“I posted the result online. There was a lot of traction and people were asking for it. I thought, ‘Wow, this is great. This could be a new design language’,” he says.

When Ong speaks about the first pair of sneakers that made an impact on his life, his face lights up. It was the Half Cab, a pair of skateboarding shoes made by American apparel label Vans and worn by American pro skateboarder Steve Caballero.

“I’ve always loved skateboarding. Around 1992, skaters began adopting a new style of tricks that required greater ankle mobility. They started modifying high-top shoes by cutting them down and then sealing them again with duct tape,” he says.

Witnessing this innovative hack was a revelation for Ong, who began experimenting on his own pair of Airwalk shoes.

“Since then, I’ve been constantly tinkering with sneakers – adding, cutting and modifying them for over two decades,” he says.

While his sneakers can go for thousands of dollars, he says: “My hope is for Singaporeans to move beyond the resell mentality. Let’s shift our focus from flipping sneakers for profit to focus on the love of the culture.”

Jeff Staple of Staple Pigeon

The Air Jordan 3 by sportswear giant Nike is more than just a pair of sneakers to Jeff Ng, better known as Jeff Staple, the Asian-American designer behind cult menswear label Staple Pigeon.

The shoes are a symbol of rebellion, excellence and a departure from the conventional.

Launched in 1988, the Air Jordan 3 is a groundbreaking shoe, not just for its innovative design but also for sparking a cultural wave. First spotted on basketball star Michael Jordan, the sneakers’ influence extends far beyond basketball, embedding itself in hip-hop culture, skateboarding communities and the wider world of fashion.

Ng, 48, says in an e-mail interview: “It taught me the importance of storytelling, authenticity and pushing boundaries.”

He founded Staple Pigeon in New York in 1997, starting with streetwear and then branching into sneakers.

That philosophy has been at the core of every Staple Pigeon release, including the milestone collaboration with Nike that cemented Ng’s legacy as one of the United States’ founding fathers of streetwear.

When it was first released in 2005, the SB Dunk Low Pigeon sneakers by Staple x Nike sparked a mini riot which required intervention from the New York Police Department.

It was reported that the value of the sneakers soared to more than five times their original US$200 price on American e-commerce platform eBay just a day after the launch.

Ng says the launch “kind of set a new standard for how much hype and demand could surround a sneaker release”.

“That moment showed the power of storytelling in sneaker culture, turning releases into events. It’s not just about the shoe. It’s the story, the chase and being part of something bigger.”

Ng is now exploring the realm of wearable tech. Although details of his latest project remain under wraps, he hints at integrating smart technologies aimed at enhancing user experience and bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds.

“Sneaker culture is at an exciting crossroads with technology. We’re seeing a blend of digital and physical worlds through augmented and virtual realities, allowing for virtual try-ons and immersive experiences that bring stories to life in new ways,” he says.

“Then there’s the rise of blockchain and non-fungible tokens, offering authenticity verification and digital ownership, which could revolutionise sneaker collecting.”

Sustainability is another development which excites Ng, who says he has several upcoming collaborations that adopt sustainable design practices to “reduce environmental impact without sacrificing style or performance”.

As for his appearance at Sneaker Con SEA, he is looking forward to connecting with the community of sneakerheads, designers and brands.

“The energy and creativity at these events are always electrifying, offering a glimpse into the future of sneakers. Connecting with like-minded individuals can spark collaborations that might shape the next big thing in sneaker culture,” he says.

Big Boy Cheng of Secret Fresh Gallery

In the realm of sneaker aficionados, Filipino collector Christian Robert Cheng – better known as Big Boy Cheng to his 309,000 Instagram followers – looms larger than life, his impressive stature matched by the size of his shoe collection.

The 47-year-old founder of Secret Fresh Gallery in Greenhills, Manila – which started in 2006 as a humble toy store but has grown into a cult clothing label in the Philippines – has a dedicated room at home to store the nearly 1,000 pairs of shoes he has amassed over 40 years.

“It’s equipped with air-conditioning and a dehumidifier, as it gets very humid here,” he says in a phone interview.

While Cheng’s shoe exploits are well known throughout the sneaker world, few realise that it was a pair of Converse Weapon that started it all.

He first spotted the shoe, worn by some of the biggest basketball stars of the 1980s, at a store in Hong Kong when he was seven.

“I always looked up to my older sister,” he says, adding that his sister Peachy Cheng was once a national basketball player.

“Whatever she had, I wanted too. When she got her hands on a pair of Converse Weapon, I couldn’t resist asking my mum for the same.”

Little did he know that the request would ignite a lifelong obsession with sneakers.

As the youngest of three siblings and the sole male heir of a family that had built its wealth through foam manufacturing, Cheng was accustomed to getting whatever he wanted.

Frequent trips to Hong Kong presented ample opportunities for him to indulge in his newfound passion, and he would often return with a dozen pairs of shoes in a single haul.

“Back then, Causeway Bay had a lot of great small sneaker stores and Mongkok had all the rare shoes,” he says.

On one occasion, Cheng became fixated on acquiring the Nike Mag, which was famously inspired by the futuristic footwear worn by protagonist Marty McFly in the 1989 film Back To The Future Part II.

As he was busy managing his personal and family businesses, he sent a friend on an all-expenses-paid “holiday” to Los Angeles to buy the shoes on his behalf. The shoes alone cost him US$36,000 (S$48,393).

But the most expensive shoes in his collection are a highly coveted pair of Louis Vuitton Nike Air Force 1, designed by the late fashion designer Virgil Abloh. Only 200 pairs were made.

“I got it for US$185,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in 2022,” he says, adding that he has worn it only twice, on special occasions.

Cheng’s sneaker-hunting expeditions are now primarily in the United States and Japan, where he tracks down rare finds.

He views sneaker shopping as a way to connect with one of his two sons – 23-year-old Miguel Cheng, who shares his father’s love of sneakers.

“He’s a lot like me. We recently went on a hunt for the Pigeon Dunk SB by Jeff Staple. My son spotted it online and we walked the streets of New York to locate the store. Sometimes, my wife gets really mad that I spend all this money,” says the elder Cheng with a laugh.

His advice to other sneaker collectors? “Just buy what you love and don’t be too fixated on whether it is limited edition or not,” he says.

“And have a nice time making friends. I met many people in the sneaker community who helped me with my business and introduced me to plenty of opportunities along the way.”