I have been talking about simple but effective sneakers over the last few weeks including a pair of customs from High Off Life Kicks. The designer’s latest pair of Air Force Ones does a 180-degree turn on the simple aesthetic of his past customs. The Major Air Force Ones were found at the High Off Life Kicks Customsnkr.com blog linked here.

High Off Life Kicks went a bit overboard when creating the Major Air Force Ones. He started out with a basic black panel along the back with a set of messy white stripes that were endearing. As I looked at the rest of the shoe, I wasn’t sure what message High Off Life Kicks was trying to send.

The toe box has a white/gray/black camo design that is rendered effectively. The eyelets and swoosh are coated in a black polka dot pattern set against a light gray background. The heel tag and front panel features an interesting collection of overlapping black lines on a dark gray backdrop.

If High Off Life Kicks used each of these patterns on separate pairs of shoes, I would have been impressed with his work. I thought that the Major Air Force Ones looked like a sampling of the designer’s skills rather than a cohesive work of sneaker art. While I am not impressed with these shoes as a whole, I think that the designer could use these sneakers as the starting point for a series of new designs.