Last week I was invited down by London Sneaker School to attend their first ever course, let me tell you about it.
First up I’ll lay some groundwork: I’ve always had an interest in shoemaking and footwear design. I had pipe dreams of designing pairs and seeing people enjoy my product yet after a failed attempt at University, with a hope to break into the industry through this medium, I ended up putting that path of my life on the back burner and moved on with other things.
Since then I’ve gained a wealth of well-earned experience and have dipped back into the footwear, clothing and accessories design game on multiple occasions mainly through consultancy which is always how I’ve preferred to work but also means you’re generally creating product with a target consumer in mind i.e not for yourself.
I’ve always been skeptical of customs and non-official creations yet this cottage industry has seen huge growth in the last few years and some of the pairs being produced rival or exceed official product with none of the restrictions that come with working for a big brand. Even so, it was the educational aspect of London Sneaker School that peaked my interest. I’m all for self-improvement and learning new skills so when they asked me if I’d like see their course in action and also learn how to make my own shoe in the process, it wasn’t hard decision (bar working out schedules and COVID shenanigans) to say yes.
I took part in a condensed version of the course, with the full course taking place over 5 days it includes everything from sketching and theory to choosing your materials/leather, cutting/clicking each panel, glueing, sewing, stitching, lasting and attaching the sole. It’s a huge undertaking and even to the initiated it brings a new found respect to those who do this for a living.
The first shoe available to create was the Nike Air Max 1 with many more to come. The iconic bubbled silhouette makes a great canvas with a good amount of design traits/nuances that are hard to recreate but you are taught how to achieve this with the goal of the course to spread knowledge, improve skills and act as a stepping stone for students aiming to enter the sneaker industry. I wish this was around when I was starting out, it would have saved me a lot time, money and knock-backs!
Although helpful to some I didn’t come with much of a game plan in mind. I had a few of my favourite Air Max’s in my head but I was thinking more along the lines of how I could blend traditional shoe making practices and materials with a contemporary silhouette. Not a new concept but I wanted to do it my way and thus the ‘Horween Beast’ was born.
The ‘Horween Beast’ gets name due to the beautiful leather used throughout the shoe, hand crafted in the USA by the Horween Leather Company who’ve been tanning leathers for over 100 years. This leather rarely makes an appearance on sneakers due to it’s expense and thickness. Because of this it’s mostly reserved for high-end New Balance and the odd special release. I’ve never seen it’s use on an official Air Max 1 or any Nike for that matter.
Using Horween allowed me to make a shoe that would patina, age and visibly tell a story a few years down the line. Plus with the upper being so well put together if the sole ever gave out, it’ll be a quick and easy fix to give them a new lease of life. Extra details include a calfskin lining for comfort, black metal eyelets and a toebox perforated by hand using the Air Force 1 pattern as inspiration.
Right so let’s summarise! I throughly enjoyed my time visiting the course and would recommend it to anyone looking to take footwear design and creation more seriously or even those who just want to create their own pair now that 1948’s revered Bespoke program has moved on from London.
Jase and Thomas are both excellent teachers and will help you create a wearable product at the end of your course. Yes there are a few kinks and imperfections here and there but that’s to be expected with a handmade product, especially if you never touched a sewing machine before.
I’m happy to answer any questions if you’ve feel I’ve missed anything but I’d suggest following London Sneaker School on instagram for more information as they’ll be able to guide you in the right direction.
For now enjoy the shots and I look forward to seeing your creations in the near future!