For one day this week, I was the beneficiary of one such phenomenon – the new light up shoes from LA Gear.

We’ve been talking about the LA Lights for about a year now. We’ve shown pictures of the
shoes as they were being developed and tested, shared info about colors and materials, shown amateur videos made by fans of the brand, and even made our own sneak peak videos. But until a few days ago, I’d never actually watched them work.

And the Lights work. To be more precise, they WORK IT. I’d been wearing the Lights here and there, to meetings, or to lunch. But I chose Las Vegas to officially “debut” my olive/green LA Techs:
Vegas is a city full of gorgeous women, slot machine bells, and flashing lights. So I knew that if I could get noticed HERE, these sneakers were working.

When you’re going about your business – and my business this week was gambling and drinking – it’s easy to forget that your shoes are lighting up with every step.

But when you’re line dancing at Stoneys it’s hard NOT to be
noticed in your Lights. In fact, everyone in Vegas – from the tourists to the casino dealers to our beautiful and vivacious friends at StripSteak in the Mandalay Bay – never forgot I was wearing these shoes. And they never forgot to comment. The comment heard most often was “Can you hook me up?”

So, yes – I hooked up some new friends with LA Lights. And yes, they now love me whereas before they might have just dug me a little bit.

So, maybe my 24 hours as a VIP gets parlayed into 24 more. What’s wrong with that?

Jamie Foxx rocked them in Blue.

Young stars and industry legends dug the new light up shoes:

Justin Bieber went for the Black/Purple Lights. Miranda Lambert and Kate Voegele were going Gold. Smokey Robinson took a liking to Green/Olive.

Traditionally, stars want something they won’t find just anywhere, and they definitely came to the right place! Reviving and updating its legendary LA Tech light ups from the early 90s, the LA Lights dropped December ’09, and have been sold exclusively at Sportie LA stores in Los Angeles and San Diego, and online at sneaker website SportieLA.com/lagear. That’s it. Nowhere else. Until this week.

“We really responded to the vibe in the lounge,” said Isack Fadlon, co-owner of Sportie LA, which partnered with LA Gear brand-owner ACI a little over a year ago to launch LA Gear Originals – featuring updated styles from the Unstoppable line, ’89-’90… and, now, this new line of LA Gear Lights. “It was a great setting and an opportunity to show off the new LA Lights – and to put them on people who are very particular about style.”

The GRAMMYs air live on CBS at 8p.m. (ET/PT)…let’s see who lights up Staples Center tonight!

Yet another reason to be proud of our community – way to go, LA!

The first light up shoes were released with LA Gear’s LA Tech line in 1992. The revolutionary

sneakers came with red step-activated LED lights in the heels. Imitators followed, but none matched the success of LA Lights.

“The design on these LA Lights shoes is authentic and true to what it was in 1992,” said LA Gear Director of Specialty Product Lance Jackson. “As with the Unstoppable line, our goal is to honor the history of the brand. We updated colors and materials, while remaining true to these iconic styles.” 

The new Lights will hit the market with fewer than one thousand pairs made per SKU. “We have plans for much wider production and distribution,” Jackson assured fans, “but we decided to do a very limited rollout to make this initial launch a little more special.” 

In creating this new line of light ups, LA Gear drew upon a fresh and diverse mix of materials, including: nubuck, patent leather, leathers with metallic finishes, mesh, and some metallic-looking mesh.

Of the technology utilized in the new LA Lights, Jackson said, “The current lights are positioned in the exact same part of the shoe as the original, but these lights have a much longer battery life – about 7 years if worn daily - and are brighter than the lights used in 1992.” Additionally, where only red lights were used in the earlier versions, colors this time around include blue, yellow, and white, and pink. Jackson pointed to the success of this year’s LA Gear Originals Unstoppable line as a major factor in the relaunch of the Lights. ”We wanted to go chronologically as we expanded the LA Gear Originals line, and consumer enthusiasm has really inspired us to move forward,” he said. Sportie LA co-owner Isack Fadlon concurred. “We get calls daily for the LA Lights,” he said, “and if you follow the chatter on the Web, it’s clear the interest level is extremely high.”

While LA Gear traditionally enjoyed a strong women’s following, sales of the LA Gear

Originals line suggest that both men and women are gravitating towards the styles. “The KAJs, Fire High, and Star Shooter Hi have all sold remarkably well,” said Fadlon, who expects both men and women to respond equally well to the Lights. “We’ve struck the perfect balance between fun and wearability,” he explained. ”Not everyone who buys a unique shoe is a collector. 90% of the people who buy the Lights will want to wear them a lot.”

Ultimately, said Jackson, the light up shoes are synonymous with the brand. ”Many people, when they think of LA Gear back in the day, they think of

LA Lights,” he concluded. ”Some want a chance to
wear these iconic sneakers again, and for others it’s a chance to experience something new. It’s the best of both worlds.”

Following the initial release at Sportie LA’s stores in Los Angeles, Sherman Oaks, and San Diego, CA, the LA Gear Lights will roll out to EVR in Cincinnati, OH; The Tannery in Cambridge, MA; Shoe Biz in San Francisco, CA; Little’s in Pittsburgh, PA; and Sports Zone, Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia, among others.

BUY LA Lights