British Knights
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British Knights is a shoe company founded in 1980 by the Jack Schwartz Shoes Inc, based in New York. The first footwear range was released in America in 1986 and in the UK in 1989.
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[edit] Distribution
The footwear was distributed in the UK by Empire Sports and BK Sports Inc and available at stores such as Blanc Leisure Limited, Cobra Sports, Allsports, Dolcis, Jack Shah, M Bros, Grattans, Foothold, Geminder Bros, John David Sports. The footwear was licenced and distributed in Australia by Pacific Brands. During 1992, the company turned over more than $32m and was advertised prolifically on Channel 4 and MTV - through sponsorship of the MTV Movie Awards.
[edit] Popularity
British Knights footwear and apparel was popular in the U.S., UK, Europe and Australia during the early 1990s, particularly within the hip hop scene. The brand was similar in design to SPX and Troop footwear and posed a market threat to established rivals such as Nike and Adidas.
The shoes were recognisable by their chunky sole design, large tongue and inclusion of multiple "BK" logos on the heel, toe guard and upper. The principal stylists used for BK were also employed by SPX and Troop.[citation needed] Several models including BK's "Director High" are almost identical to Troop models. The brand was featured prominently in hip hop and dance music videos by artists such as Public Enemy, Technotronic and Beats International.
[edit] Dymacel
Dymacel was an enhancement in BK shoe models of the early 1990s. The technology consisted of diamond shaped green silicon cushioning embedded within a sole window and was a feature intended to compete with Nike's "Nike Air", Puma's "Puma Disc" and Reebok's "Reebok Pump". Like most shoe enhancements of the period, the actual performance improvement as opposed to the aesthetic aspect was debatable. Dymacel was first released in Australian and Europe models. Shoes were accompanied with a lenticular tag intended to hang off the laces.
[edit] Endorsement
For many years, the company resisted endorsement by a professional athlete, a popular practice of many modern day apparel companies. Instead, they focused on being something of a hip hop lifestyle alternative. This policy ended, however, with the endorsement of their new "Dymacel Technology" by Derrick Coleman of the New Jersey Nets and Xavier McDaniel of the New York Knicks.
[edit] Marketing Campaigns
- 1990: "Get off on the right foot - get off on BKs"
- 1991: "U Cant Touch This" (featuring MC Hammer)
- 1992: "Choose Change"
[edit] The Decline of BK
An urban myth in the early 1990s claimed that the Crips street gang wore the shoes and took the "BK" logo to indicate "Blood Killer," in reference to the rival gang. The rumors are reported to have contributed to the decline in popularity of the brand as schools and universities moved to ban the wearing of the footwear in an attempt to curb gang-related violence. Troop suffered the same fate, leading some to speculate that the rumors were started by Adidas or another rival company.
[edit] Recent News
In the late 1990s British Knights had begun re-advertising in the U.S., most notably in the Source Magazine, and had built a new website. However, due to unknown reasons, the shoes were not distributed to retail outlets and the "comeback" never happened.
During 1996, Jack Schwartz Shoes Inc licensed the BK British Knights trademark to a German company which marketed British Knights as a discount skate shoe. The styles differed from the original American brand and were available for sale in department stores. During 2005, several of these models appeared in Australian and New Zealand discount stores - invariably leading to confusion among sneaker collectors seeking the original brand.
As of 2003, the U.S. company began producing new models in limited runs, although the new models are less chunky in their design and based on running shoe trends.
Jack Schwartz Shoe Company Inc has since launched a new brand called "Lugz", endorsed by DJ Funkmaster Flex and rapper Birdman.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- British Knights were mentioned in the song "Back In the Day" by Missy Elliott featuring Jay-Z and Tweet. The lyrics were "Go back in the day / British Knights and gold chains..."
- British Knights were featured in the Robbie Williams song "The 80's." The lyrics also mention he wore a "Troop Tracksuit."
- The shoes were sometimes given away as prizes on popular Nickelodeon game shows such as Double Dare and Nick Arcade.
- British Knights were featured in the Midway Basketball game "Arch Rivals." A banner advertisement was hung in the background, while all team players wore "BK Ambassador" hi-top models.
- British Knights sponsored the BMX Masters 2007.
