Notorious B.I.G. in Brooklyn.
Clarence Davis/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Music’s most perfectly on-trend shoe is here. And by “on trend,” we mean it’s taking cues from over two decades ago.
Coogi’s “Biggie Colorway,” as it’s now known, was once a luxury sweater designed with the elite class in mind, but when The Notorious B.I.G wore one in the early ’90s, it quickly became a symbol of earned wealth through stardom. Coogi also became synonymous with the rapper, as evidenced by Dana Lixenberg’s now-iconic 1996 Vibe magazine photo of Biggie counting dollars in Coogi.
Almost 30 years after the Brooklyn native wore the Australian-based knitwear company, Android Homme — a luxury sneaker brand whose fans include Justin Bieber and Chris Brown — teamed up with Coogi to handcraft 100 pairs of Italian leather sneakers, in Android’s signature Alpha High and Alpha low styles, with the infamous rainbow pattern knit into them.
“We were inspired by our love for the Coogi knit, particularly because we were able to use the same machinery and knitting mills used in the ’90s to create Biggie’s sweater,” Android Homme president Steve Patino told Billboard. “The knit is three-dimensional and goes up and down in weaves, and every shoe is completely different because it’s cut based on the knit. So whatever the customer sees on their unique pair wasn’t intentional — it’s just how the nature of the fabric falls on the shoe.”
Android Homme x Coogi “Alpha Low” in Coogi’s “Biggie Colorway”.Courtesy of Android Homme
Unfortunately, collectors and the sneaker-obsessed will be hard-pressed to find a pair of the $590 ($550 for the Alpha Low model) shoes. While they only launched a short time ago, each country lucky enough to sell the limited-edition collaboration was only sent 20 pairs, and in the U.S, the only places selling Coogi x Android Homme was Patron of the New in New York City (they received five pairs), AndroidHomme.com and Coogi.com.
But hey, at least we know in some form of fashion, it is possible to bring Biggie back.