[SNKRDUNK Snapshots] Sole Superior 2024

19th November 2024 EDT FEATURES

[SNKRDUNK Snapshots] Sole Superior 2024

The ninth edition of Singapore's grassroots street culture convention—in pictures.

Sole Superior 2024 was held on 16 November at the Foochow Building in Singapore. The venue frequently hosts Singapore Pro Wrestling, which the two founders, being fans, alluded to as influencing this year’s theme. Thus, in the same spirit, besides Sole Superior hallmarks of brands and vendors, this ninth edition introduced more competitive elements, such as a yo-yo and sneaker battle.

There was indeed something for everyone, from the connoisseurs and collectors to the casual attendees. Sneakers and streetwear may be a staple in street culture conventions, but trading card games and collectibles had a bigger presence this year.

Upon entering the doors, everyone was instantly greeted by Retro City‘s booth, which displayed some of the most important mementos of a bygone era—especially to the pop culture-savvy millennial.

As eye-catching and nostalgic as their table was, other adjacent booths were just as captivating such as DPLMT and Crumpler‘s, which carried 20 one-of-a-kind Teenie Weenie bags handcrafted at their Fitzroy Workshop in Melbourne, Australia.

Lest we forget, Cosmonauts—another Sole Superior collaborator and producer of this year’s event-exclusive t-shirts, together with artist WD.Willy.

Graphic tees with a vintage lean are a fortunate staple in the status quo, with many local labels like Skin+Bone making colloquial references in their designs and reinterpreting the most familiar IPs, as they’ve done with their “POKE+ SERIES”.

Further into the beloved bootleg arena is Placate The Gods, a love letter to film and cinema by one of its most passionate fans, no matter how far removed from its place of origin.

They also produced a special collaborative t-shirt (above) with Sole Superior, paying homage to the 1999 Singaporean cult indie film Eating Air.

Beyond graphics, covering the cut-and-sew spectrum of fashion are brands like Alby. and S.Lesta, both exhibiting craftsmanship hitherto unseen locally.

It is heartening to see burgeoning talents proliferate in Singapore. Fashion brands are receiving recognition in various niches, while artists like MEEZart Studios and Neufcats are venturing into art toys with their creations.

On the collectibles front, vendors like Steady Garage offered an array, including the current sensation, Labubu dolls, and other prized figurines.

Long-time Sole Superior associate Alfrey Koh and his talented coterie from Persona, Divine, Kiku Space, Electric Sin, Imagine, and Love Sick Tattoo Studios were also present, apropos, ready with sneaker-inspired flash tattoos.

One of this year’s event highlights was a showcase and yo-yo battle by Throw Revolution. Even the kids showed up to the showdown to show off to the whole crowd.

Of course, the quintessence of every sneaker convention: the rare pairs that you have only ever seen on your screens—such as the RTFKT x Nike Dunk Genesis and the unreleased Yuto Horigome x Nike SB Dunk Low “Asparagus”.

Alas, the pièce de résistance, the very folks that have given reason for Sole Superior to exist for more than a decade: the people—the organizers, the vendors, and the attendees.