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ALEX ROPES INSTAGRAM @ALEX.ROPES
Crepe Talk is our weekly feature in which we approach people going about their daily lives across the UK, take a picture of their kicks and ask them to share the story behind them and pretty much anything else relevant to the culture of trainers. This week we speak with the founder and owner of Rope Laces, Alex Ropes as he joined Fresh Laces for their recent Harvey Nichols launch, rocking his New Balance 580 ‘Wings & Horns’.
CJ: What’s your name?
“Alex.”
CJ: What’s your occupation?
Alex Ropes: “I own Ropes Laces.”
CJ: What made you wear these trainers today?
Alex Ropes: “I knew that today I would be coming to fresh laces event so I thought that it would be good to breakout something fresh out of the box and dark coloured in keeping with the winter colours. Therefore it had to be a black trainer, the New Balance 580 ‘Wings & Horns’ that came out the end of last year, they were one of my top drops so I thought it was appropriate to wear it.”
CJ: How much were they?
Alex Ropes: “They retail for £110 I got them for £140 shipped but they’re going for around £220 now.”
CJ: Where did you purchase these?
Alex Ropes: “I was meant to meet up with some friends and to go down to the in store release Saturday morning to get them, but I wound up going out the night before and I was left in no fit state to get them. So I missed the drop, missed the online release as well and wound up biting the bullet to pay resale, which I don’t do often but if it’s the right price and not a mad rip off then I’ll take the plunge. I ended up getting them from a guy in Italy who let me have them for a very reasonable price.”
CJ: How long have you been collecting trainers?
Alex Ropes: “I’ve been collecting properly for five or six years, but the love affair started when I was in primary school with the Air Max 98, the OG ones and the Air Max 96 as well. There used to be a shop in Stretham called Sports & Things and I used to walk past and see them for sale at £110 and back then that was far too much money. So I would just dream about them, but since then I’ve always been in love with trainers from TN’s, Air Max’s. Since those days I’ve been lucky enough to make those dreams come true and I’ve even been able to source the OG 98’s and Air Max’s from 96 that I’ve always wanted.”
CJ: Would you call yourself a Sneaker-head or a collector?
Alex Ropes: “That’s a hard question. The term Sneaker-head has got some negative connotations to it. I don’t WANT to call myself a Sneaker-head, but I guess I am but I also consider myself a collector as well, if anything I would rather call myself a sneaker connoisseur.”
CJ: How many pairs do you have in your collection?
Alex Ropes: “My collection has slimmed down a bit, but I would say around 60 pairs.”
You can check out Rope Laces here at ROPELACES.COM