Working with footwear designers taught me a whole new language and comparing my translation of a design with the actual or rumored backstory for a given style or limited colorway is a huge piece of my sneaker addiction. It is fascinating to decode the art and look for messages in the decisions the designer made. The same opportunity exists in street art, t-shirt design, music, poetry and spoken-word. There is always a backstory and the art becomes more meaningful as you discover the message the artist was trying to convey or, in the absense of a message, you discover the inspiration behind the design — what were the visual cues, the feeling the designer was trying to build into the final product.
As a long time fan of Rodger Gastman’s work, his magazine and the cross over between art and product that exists in pop-culture T’s and today’s kicks, it was cool to see these worlds come together to form a collection at another innovative powerhouse, Threadless. Congratulations to all involved. I will have one of each.