Ampere Nightclub Bids Farewell to Pandemic Restrictions with Limited Edition Reebok Sneaker

Until last week, the nightclubs of Belgium were closed for 22 long months. In fact, no sector has been closed for that long in Belgium during the pandemic. It has been a huge financial loss for many club owners, and frustrating for all club kids who crave the dance floor.

But on February 18th, things finally changed. Nightclubs were allowed to open their doors again, without restrictions or an early closing time. In celebration of this, the iconic Antwerp nightclub Ampere and independent creative agency Mutant launched something very unique: The ‘Night Damage’ Sneaker, an exclusive sneaker collection of just 22 pieces, one for each month the clubs in Belgium were closed. Each sneaker has a distressed design to look like it had been dancing hard for the last 22 months.

Mutant took 22 pairs of boxfresh Reebok 'Club C' trainers, and redesigned them into limited 'Night Damage Edition' with sticky soles, muddy uppers, damaged tongues and dirty laces, tapping into the 'distressed' sneaker trend among fashionistas.

Joachim Marijnen, creative director of Club Ampere said: “Belgian nightlife has suffered some serious damage in recent years and the reopening of nightlife is a big moment for us, one we wanted to capture. We hope that clubbers can look at their shoes at 5AM and realize just how lucky we are to be able to do this again.”

Roxane Schneider, art director at Mutant went on to say: "This iconic sneaker was the sneaker of choice for ravers in the 90s. They were originally inextricably linked to the UK raving culture in the days of illegal raves in old warehouses, and came in handy when you had to flee from the police. After the turn of the century, this sneaker also became a go-to wearable in our Belgian clubs.”

Usman Abdul, also art director at Mutant added: “We redesigned this all-time classic into a 'Night Damage edition' full of yellow stains, sticky soles, torn tongues, soiled laces and even small pieces of glass between the soles. A shoe scarred by the night, ready to dive into the next.”

The 22 pairs of sneakers are available to buy for €169 in Ampere, plus trendy sneaker stores Avenue and Vier who specialise in limited edition sneaker drops.