What or Where is Crepe City?
Clue – it's not about eating nor is it a place in France. Alex Kolton investigates.

Crepe City is a very cool, nearly underground annual event specifically and myopically for the sneaker enthusiast (trainers to our Brit friends.) Predominantly male attendees from all backgrounds and varying parts of London queued for the privilege to spectate and purchase, patiently lining Brick Lane to enter the Truman Brewery where purveyors, collectors, traders, buyers, obsessives and sellers of all things sneaker displayed their wares. 'Sneaker Heads' came with hopes of laying eyes on or nabbing a rare pair of Back to the Future II Air Mags can cost around £25k or Jordan Undefeated 4's only 15 pairs ever made or retro 1970’s Adidas Gazelles made in communist Yugoslavia. Your wallet needed to be Phat, as most all transactions were cash.

£18 for tickets or a bit more for early VIP entry, Crepe City has been happening since 2009 and innovator and trend expert Morgan Weekes put the event together with fine attention to detail choosing an intuitive DJ and just the right retailers. Morgan is a cool, level headed guy who has an encyclopedic knowledge of sneakers and is rather a legend on the scene. We witnessed his henchmen discovering a pair of fake Yeezy 750's (Kanye West's coveted brand costing from £600) and swiftly asking the stand to take them down.

Trending on the scene were the NMDs by Adidas and Sneaker pushers such as Solebeliever www.solebeliever.com offered limited editions and dead stock (new, unworn in original box) sneakers. Adam, an entrepreneurial North London kid from Mill Hill prep school was selling a pair of Nike Red Octobers he had purchased for £2,300 and hoped to re-sell for a steep profit. There was plenty for sale including accessories such as, 'ropes' or laces to lay people, Jason Mark crepe shoe cleaner, Perspex boxes to protect your investments, and brands such as Supreme, Bape and Basement dominated. You could visit a pop up barber shop, Spin the Wheel for a fiver to win sneakers, have a mechanical bull ride and you could have your trainers professionally cleaned up.

Crepe City has an official partnership with the Japanese brand G-Shock and showcased a sought after American Stars and Stripes X A-Life watch inspired by American Artist Jasper John’s paintings of American flags in the 1950’. A Scottish shoe company called Hanon, apparently one to watch, launched a new shoe and Diadora offered a limited edition sneaker with just 50 pairs.

The first sneakers were running shoes with spikes in the mid-1800’s and the interest has never wavered. It is debatable but many agree the Nike Air Jordan Chicago created in 1984 for basketball legend Michael Jordan is the most iconic sneaker of all time. Crepe (pronounced Krep) is the hip hop slang for, 'fly' trainers and aside from the practicality of collecting sneakers, in many cases a well-chosen trainer can hold its value even after being worn. Just don't toss the box out.

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