Fashion-conscious gamers who grew up with Sega’s iconic Mega Drive console can now pick up a line of exclusive sportswear designed in collaboration with independent trainer label Lavair.
The line, which launches on July 23 directly from Lavair, will be split into two. The ‘Exo Sega Mega Drive Mono’ offers a predominantly black shoe with a black grid pattern evocative of early Mega Drive game cases, while the ‘Exo Sega Mega Drive Analog’ adds a purple hue.
Each pair of trainers is joined by a baseball cap in matching styles, with the underside brim of the Analog cap replicating the shoe’s purple, while the Mono cap opts for a black-silver effect.
The Sega Mega Drive – known as the Sega Genesis to those of a North American persuasion – originally launched in Japan in 1988, before arriving in the US in 1989 and Europe in 1990.
The console was a hit, launching gaming icons such as Sonic the Hedgehog, and kickstarted a war for dominance of the burgeoning home gaming market with Nintendo, which would launch its own 16-bit console in the form of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990.
Lavair’s shoes pay homage to the era with “16-bit” stitching on the inside of the caps, and a similar tag on the tongue of the shoes.
Lavair says the crossover line “flaunts technical aesthetics with a full thermoplastic polyurethane eye-stay and weather-resistant toe guard and draped in a hi-tensile nylon upper”, and that the shoes “sit on top of a streetwear-inspired outsole, combined with outdoor trekker detailing for optimal comfort underneath the brands’ signature, lighter-than-air sole.”
However, showing off such retro gaming fashion comes with a hefty price tag – shoes will set buyers back £200 (€233, $276), while baseball caps are £50 (€58, $70).
While Sega abandoned production of its own consoles following the ill-fated (but fan-favourite) Dreamcast, the company is still a major player in the games market.
More recently, it has showcased new gameplay elements in Yakuza spin-off Lost Judgment, and highlighted the HD remake of the first two Super Monkey Ball games, Banana Mania.
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