Champate posted his latest work, the Jekyll and Hide Collection, at the Nike Talk thread linked here. The designer used the tormented nature of Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego, Mr. Hyde, to create diametrically opposed custom sneakers. You can check out individual photos of each custom after the post.

Champate was particularly proud of the fact that both custom Dunks used in this collection were reconstruction projects. The Dr. Jekyll Nike Dunks feature purple shoe laces, black toes and wraps as well as beautiful blue/white imagery on the middle panels. The Mr. Hyde Nike Dunks have white toes and collars, red middle panels and a chain link fence design on the heel wrap.

The Jekyll and Hyde Collection benefits greatly from Champate’s dedication to detail. The Dr. Jekyll Dunks feature black denim sown to the Nike swooshes and toes to add a different dimension to these customs. The chain link fences on the Mr. Hyde Dunks are rendered perfectly by the steady hands of Champate. Champate rebuilt a duo of Nike Dunks that cannot be separated and critiqued individually without losing the larger theme.

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YoaKustoms went into mad scientist mode to create the Eye Create a Monster Nike Teen Wolf Dunks. The designer’s choice of sneakers, the Nike Teen Wolf Dunks put out earlier this year, was only the first step in creating this monster of a custom. I found these photos at the YoaKustoms Customsnkr.com blog linked here.

The base shoe was yellow/black with fake fur lining the collar. YoaKustoms started by painting a lizard’s eye on each middle panel to give his monster sight. He continued customizing these sneakers with scaly skin running from heel to toe. The scaly skin is not the standard green scales of a lizard but yellow, neon green, blue and red to give this monster some personality.

YoaKustoms won me over to these shoes by choosing a canvas as unique as the Nike Teen Wolf Dunks. The Eye Create a Monster Dunks are pleasing to the eyes from start to finish, demonstrating the designer’s ability to bring such a wild design under his command. Instead of a literal interpretation of a lizard or monster, YoaKustoms gave the world an entirely new monster through the Eye Created a Monster Nike Dunks.

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Marvel Comics created Adventures on the Planet of the Apes in 1975 to capture momentum from the 1968 movie Planet of the Apes starring Charlton Heston. Chrisco-CC is trying to reclaim this forgotten Marvel series from subsequent gaffes and duds at the box office with his latest custom Nike Dunk Highs. The Planet of the Apes Nike Dunk Highs were found at the website for the 2009 Clash of the Customizers linked here.

The Planet of the Apes Nike Dunk Highs come packed with plenty of surprises for its viewers. The insoles pictured below are painted red and yellow with the Planet of the Apes lettering used in the comic book series. The middle panels are lined with furry fabric to symbolize a gorilla’s fur while the heel wraps are burnt suede in a nod to a gorilla’s rough palms. Chrisco-CC painted the toe boxes gray to match the color of a gorilla’s face.

Chrisco-CC was defeated by sharp020’s custom sneakers in the first round of the Clash of the Customizers. While the voters and judges may not have loved these sneakers, I am a big fan of The Planet of the Apes Nike Dunk Highs for their mixture of creative design and retro appeal. Chrisco-CC went after an oft-ignored portion of the Marvel Comics universe and the resulting customs show his commitment to his craft as well as his enjoyment of the subject material.

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3R Custom Sneakers is the organizer of the 2009 Clash of the Customizers that is taking place right now at the website linked here. The designer also entered the 112 Nike Dunk Lows in the tournament, easily defeating Sole Affection’s Space Hare Dunk Highs in the first round. You can check out more information on 3R Custom Sneakers website linked here.

The 112 Nike Dunk Lows are based on DJ Clark Kent’s Nike 112 Pack shown here. 3R Customs borrowed the elephant skin pattern from the Nike 112 Pack, breaking up the gray heel wrap with deep black lines. The middle panels and toes are painted gray to complement the heel wraps while offering great contrasts with the laces and outsoles.

The 112 Nike Dunk Lows feature neon green outsoles and shoe laces to attract the viewer. 3R Custom Sneakers also added “Clark” and “Kent” on the heel tags in neon green to stand apart from the black background. The designer did a great job of cribbing the best parts of his inspiration without copying another artist’s work. 3R Custom Sneakers will pit the 112 Nike Dunk Lows against the first-round winner between bLue and JBLogic.

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