End of the World as We Know It Department

The New York Times' Fashion & Style section today featured an article on rock shoes. That's right: Fashion & Style. Longtime Gunkie Michael Dimitri gave his semi-tongue-in-cheek reviews of six models. I particularly liked this comment about the Evolv Bandit: "This California company sells only all-synthetic “vegan friendly” shoes, which Mr. Dimitri said, “doesn’t make for a better or worse shoe,” unless “you had to eat them.”

Nothing new here, actually: I remember back in the late 80s or early 90s when Boreal's Fire Classic was briefly a hot fashion item in certain cities, and sales of black, puffy down parkas in inner-city neighborhoods propped up The North Face's revenues for years. Interesting that Five Ten, easily the most fashion-conscious maker of climbing shoes, was represented in the Times article by the Altia, a white, high-topped crack-climbing shoe reminiscent of the old Converse All Stars. Retro chic?