Conceived, Designed, Edited and Produced by Soleseek (John Brolly and Bennet Martin)

Publication Date: 2007/2008

Author: Soleseek (John Brolly and Bennet Martin)

Language: English

No ISBN

Published in 2008, Collective Disorder is a “Labor of love” put together by John Brolly and Bennet Martin, the founders of Soleseek.  In Brolly’s own words, “basically a pictorial tome of vintage shoes from a number of worldwide collectors – UK, Europe, US. It was something like 350 odd pages and god knows how many models were actually in there.”

The book starts with forewards/essays by Graham Kerr (Suedehead) and Phil Thornton (The Trainer as Cultural Signifier), and is followed by beautifully shot photos of incredibly rare and sought after sneakers from the collections of: 10ARI, Big P, C-Law (of Crooked Tongues fame), trainerspotter, Glenn, Jazzy, Jude, Kerso, Q, Raff, Robbo, Seza, Shoeclassics, Deluded Monkey, Digger, Swoosh, Ulf, Bill and Cutch.

Initially published in a run of only 100 copies (including those given to the contributors), it was later republished in 2010 jointly with Size? to celebrate the UK retailer’s 10th anniversary.  The Size? version had Size? branding on the cover, the book casing was charcoal colored and the lettering on the cover of the book was red/orange, while the original version had an army green colored casing and the lettering on the cover of the book was green.

Sneakerature’s Take: One of the true gems in our library. A stunning compendium of rare vintage trainers, including some that are virtually unknown. Flipping through this book is akin to finding a treasure chest buried long ago on a desert island.  Many of the models and colorways simply don’t exist on this planet outside of one or two pairs, and they’re sought out by only a handful of minutiae-obsessed treasure hunters/collectors.