When you approach someone with sneakers like these Jeremy Scott originals, it only makes sense that they would work at a cutting edge store like Covert, the new shoe lab to join in on the luxurious shopping experience at the Limelight Marketplace. Yesterday marked their grand opening celebration that took over the entire historical three floor space, with other businesses joining in and offering specials for the occasion as well.

Lucid Absinthe offered up Limelight- inspired cocktails while Radeberger and Krusovice provided complimentary brews.  Delicious hor d’oeuvres were enjoyed by shoe shoppers.

Jarrett, one of the Associates at Covert, explained what makes the new store different from other places that sneaker aficionados go to is their specialty of hard to find exclusive and retro styles. They’re still experimenting with the brands that they will carry, but are willing to take special orders for clients that are having trouble tracking down their dream sneakers. If they feel it might be popular for other customers as well, there’s a good chance they will carry it for the store too! Two of the more popular styles right now are a UK imported Pony and Lacoste sneaker that Covert is the sole carrier of in the US.

Some other sneakers of interest Jarrett pointed out were the retro Pony sneaker, an Alexander McQueen sneaker that a lot of stores do not carry/know even exists and a pair of hard to obtain Doc Martens.

All of the importing and acquiring that is going on at Covert has everything to do with their buyer, Sang. He is especially passionate about under the radar brands with a lot of hype. For example, Warriors, an everyday martial arts shoe that people wear in China, left such a lasting impression on two friends from Boston, that they became their sole distributor in the US. This is one of the shoe brands that can currently be found at Covert and on the most wanted list of most magazines.

The most pressing question inquiring minds wanted to know was whether or not they carry women’s shoes! The answer is yes, although their selection is not as large as men’s at the moment as they are still expanding. Jarrett was quick to add that if a woman were to take an interest in any of the men’s sneakers, they could always be ordered in a smaller size.

It is easy to see why Covert will quickly become like the other vendors in the Limelight Marketplace; a place where New Yorkers can go for rare, highly sought after products that make them feel like an item was made specifically for them. Or if you want to go the copycat route, you could go always go in with a picture of a pair of hard to find sneakers you’ve been stalking that you saw on Britney in Us Weekly and have Covert do the dirty work of finding them for you!

– Stephanie