Fabolous Says Patrick Ewing Loved His New Sneaker Collab

Last Thursday, March 26, sneaker heads lined up in front of S.O.B.'s in Manhattan for the exclusive launch of the Packer Shoes x Fabolous x Teyana Taylor x Ewing 33 collaboration pack in New York City.

Fab and Teyana were in attendance for the exclusive launch, which sold out in a matter of of two hours. Both Loso and the G.O.O.D. Music songstress greeted fans purchasing the limited-edition sneakers, signed autographs and took pictures with those in attendance. The limited Fame & War sneaker pack pays tribute to both Patrick Ewing's run during the 1990s with the New York Knicks and the former NBA star's Jamaican heritage. For the Def Jam rapper, the Ewing 33 Hi was an important sneaker during his earlier days, which was one of the reasons the Young OG decided to go full-on with the collaboration.

XXL sat down with Fabolous to discuss his collaboration with Packer Shoes and Ewing Athletics and to get the story behind the design concept of the shoe and the influence the Ewing sneaker had on him growing up. —Roger Krastz

Image: FlyHumanBeyond

XXL: How important for you was the Ewing sneaker when you were growing up?
Fabolous: I think it was strong for me because Ewing was the statue of New York sports. It was no way around him because he was such a big player within the franchise. So once he got his show with adidas and then he got his own shoe, this was like a step up kind of, because it put his name on the shoe. And you know the adidas one was like in a Knicks colorway, but these were actually his shoes. So I remember that being significant rather than just being down with adidas.

What was the story you wanted to tell with this sneaker?
They brought the story to us. It's called the Fame & War pack. Teyana Taylor's shoe, which is the gold one, is for the fame, and the black, red and green—which is the Jamaican colors—represents Ewing's heritage. So that was the story behind the Fame & War pack.

How did the talks between you, Packers Shoes and Ewing Athletics begin for this collab?
I've always shopped at Packers and me and the owner Mike have been friends for a while. So when he was doing this collaboration, I guess he seen a fit for me to be a part of it. Like, he brought it to me and, you know, I saw the samples before it came and I thought it was a dope collaboration.

What do you think is needed for a good partnership between an artist and footwear brand?
I think, first of all, it has to make sense, you know what I'm saying? Then you actually have to see the shoe and see if it is a dope shoe. And you know, in this collaboration we didn't actually do too much designing; it was brought to us, the whole Fame & War [concept], and then we were able to see the colorways that we could do. And we just pushed the button on it. So it was also dope with this one that it had a story to it and it was a collab that showed two different colorways, so I like that as well. You know, a lot of collabs be sometimes one sneaker and follows with more, but this one dropped with two at one time, so that was cool.

You wore your collab sneakers in front of Patrick Ewing in your hometown of Brooklyn. How cool was that and what were his thoughts on the shoe?
It was cool, man. I actually knew Pat before the collab. We actually used to go to the same barbershop a few years back, so I've kicked it with him before, but it's always good to see him. Ewing said he loved the outcome of the collaboration, so that was cool.

The Packer Shoes x Fabolous x Teyana Taylor x Ewing 'Fame & War' project was re-released today at noon on Packershoes.com and Packer's retail location in New Jersey.

Filed Under: collaboration, Editor's Picks, Ewing 33, Ewing Athletics, Fabolous, Fame & War, Feature, featured, Packer Shoes, Teyana Taylor

Categories: Lifestyle, Sneakers