It was a chilly Saturday noon, there were few people on the street. However, the ACU store on Changle Road was hotter and more crowded than ever.

It was a big day for Shanghai's sneaker fans: Nike launched the 25th anniversary series of its limited Air Force One on the Chinese mainland.

To become Shanghai's very first owners of the limited pairs, Huang Lei and his friend had been waiting outside the store since 11am. The two pairs they purchased later were among only six Nike Air Force One 25th anniversary "luxury" series available on the Chinese mainland.

Each costs 16,000 yuan (US$2,051). The very special shoes of snakeskin were entirely hand-made in Italy by top craftsmen.

Six more pairs of crocodile skin at the same price will be unveiled at the end of January.

"I love sneakers. To me, they are just like..." the 26-year-old ponders for a while, "my closest friends."

Back at home, Huang has more than 50 pairs of "friends." He doesn't wear them all. In fact, most of them have never been worn a single time.

The Shanghai native fell in love with sneakers three years ago when he worked as a salesman at a sportswear shop. In the past three years, he has spent more than 100,000 yuan on sneakers, mostly the limited editions of Nikes and Adidas.

Apart from the 16,000-yuan Nike shoes, Huang also owns other cherished treasures such as a pair of sneakers signed by NBA star Kobe Bryant.

"Many people, including my family, can't understand my spending so much on shoes," says the young man who now works in an insurance company. "I have spent all my savings on sneakers but in other words, they are my most valuable savings."

Opened in December, ACU claims to be the first high-end sneaker boutique on the Chinese mainland. It is also the Hong Kong-based Clot group's first investment on the Chinese mainland. In Hong Kong, Clot sells street fashion and produces pop music targeting the young generation.

The name "ACU" is derived from "acupuncture" and "acupressure," two terms from traditional Chinese medicine. According to shop manager Dick Lai, the name perfectly conveys the store's theme of "East-meets-West."

"Street culture originated in the West, but we want to develop it in the East in our own way," he explains.

In "ACU," the shoes are mostly limited editions or ACU's own designs developed in collaboration with famous brands such as Nike. They are either hung on clotheslines or apparently randomly (but tastefully) put in the pulled-out drawers of traditional Chinese medicine cabinets of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Most of the furniture in this two-level store are antiques collected by the Hong Kong bosses and their friends.

There are not too many choices of styles, though - most of the shoes in the shop were sold out in one week, according to Lai.

The Hong Kong native who moved to Shanghai only several months ago says that Shanghai people's passion for sports shoes is far beyond what he has expected.

"I'm surprised to have met so many sneaker fans here, from teenagers to people in their fifties. Some of them do know a lot of about sneakers."

At the same time, he points out that although Shanghai people are wild about limited editions, many of them don't really understand the concept behind these shoes and clothes.

They want to be unique, just like everyone else.

"When they saw Edison Chen (famous Hong Kong singer/movie star, one of Clot's founders) wearing a green tee on the cover of a magazine, they came to the shop for the tee - but only the green one, not the other colors of the same style," Lai says with a forced smile.

Not everyone could afford a pair of sneakers as expensive as a pair of Guccis. To some people, a boutique like ACU has become a good place to learn about the latest trends in streetwear fashion.

Zhang Haoqing and Fu Yu come to ACU by bicycle almost every weekend to check out the new arrivals. On that day, the two 18-year-olds arrived at the shop at 12pm sharp. After carefully checking out all the Air Force One collections on the shelves, the young men rested on the couch for a while, their eyes still staring at the shoes.

"We are here just to have a look," Zhang explains. "There are too many limited editions in the market nowadays. It's impossible for us to buy each one of them."

Still a high school student, Zhang gets about 200 yuan from his parents every month, but his most expensive pair of shoes cost him 1,680 yuan. He started to collect sneakers two years ago and has waited outside shoe shops for several hours only to get a pair of limited edition trainers, just like many of his teenager pals.

These teenagers read magazines, chat online and exchange correspondence on the bbs. They know where to find a particular brand and when a new model is going to be launched in town.

They are familiar with every streetwear store in Shanghai, from the big multi-labeled ones to the small boutiques scattered about, from the oldest FLY on Changle Road to the latest Source on Xinle Road.

Fu says the newly opened Source has become one of his favorite shops because "it introduces not only shoes and clothes, but also the culture."

Calling itself a "one-stop streetwear destination," the Source shop opened in early December, just one week after ACU's official opening. Covering 1,000 square meters, it sells more than 30 established and emerging streetwear labels from around the globe.

It features the city's first customized denim wash house and a unique, 8.85-meter "sneaker tower" (the staff usually needs special rock climbing gear to reach the shoes). There is also an in-shop 300-square-meter KONG Gallery, showcasing street art of both established international artists and young, ascending Chinese artists.

A graffiti exhibition by almost all the best graffiti artists in China is running. The gallery also hosts regular music and film events, as well as workshops and speakers on street culture.

"We aim to introduce to China leading international artists and designers covering the varied areas of youth culture, and provide local talents the opportunity to display their work to the the public," says store founder Nathan Chang.

"Also, before you sell a brand in China, you must sell the culture behind that brand first: without a heritage and history, a brand means nothing to the consumers.

"China is becoming an international community, it is just a matter of time for Chinese people to focus on street culture," says the Australian Chinese who came to China two years ago. "Street culture belongs to young people all over the world, including Shanghai."

ACU

Address: Shop 15, 139 Changle Rd
Tel: 3308-0888

Source

Address: 158 Xinle Rd
Tel: 5404-3808