I’ve been on the look out for a nice pair of plimsolls for a couple of months now. I love the colour of these Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Sparkle in wine but I’m not too sure if I should get them. Red shoes – yes, sparkleys – yes. But sequinned red canvas shoes? I’ll have to think about it (but will you just look at that colour?!)

Anyway, I was watching a Shaolin Kungfu show on TV when someone on it mentioned Feiyue shoes. These shoes are commonly worn by people practicing martial arts in China because they are cheap and good or something like that. B quipped that the shoes are gaining much popularity as a fashion accessory in China and the world, so that piqued my interest enough for a quick Google.

This is the original design.

I was initially confused about the definition of “cheap” because the pair costs 50 euros at Le Shop at feiyue-shoes.com. But after a bit more Googling, I found out that these shoes are marketed differently (with slight modification in design) in France and apparently popular with those in the parkour circuit and er, Orlando Bloom. The original originals manufactured by TopOne are available at Feiyue 585 store in Shanghai, China for about the price of a McMeal. But cheap doesn’t buy you cool artist collaborations like these:

Do want the green and blue strip one by Stephen Cop!

Buy Feiyue Wushu Shoes