About 6 months ago, I was on Instagram scrolling through my feed when I saw #NT legend @airrev post a photo of what I thought was an original pair of K-Swiss SI-18 International from 1989. I posted "No way!" and forgot about the shoes. Fast forward to a few weeks ago when another colorway popped up on my screen. I knew then that I was late and K-Swiss had re-issued the "Tennis Shoe of the Year" (3 years in a row). I told myself that I HAD to have one!

I remember drooling over my cousin kuya Bernard's pair back in the early 90's. It was one of the few models that I always wanted but missed out on as a kid because I was only limited to 1-2 pairs of sneakers per school year. My brothers and I had the K-Swiss Classic and they became part of my sneaker rotation for years. I even picked up a pair of wheat/gum Classics and wore them (with the tags on, lol) to the K-Swiss International-sponsored Sneaker Pimps Manila back in 2005. With my undying love for timeless sneakers, the SI-18 International remained as my K-Swiss holy grail for over 20 years.

These may not be the OG colorway but the 1992 version is just as sweet! Thank you K-Swiss and Eric Sarin for bringing them back! You can check out his interview HERE.

Big THANK YOU to Billie, @kswissph and @planetsportsph for the great assist!

Thinking of picking up a pair? Head to K-Swiss Alabang Town Center (tel. no. +632.579.2573) before they are all gone.

And yes, I am officially back.

:)