Sneaker Portfolio Lucas Rossington 2024

Lucas Rossington

2024

Sneaker Portfolio

The start of my custom sneaker journey begins with the goal of taking some of the most popular and affordable street wear sneakers and making them unique. Never trying to imitate a more hyped, name brand sneakers, but instead create hype around a custom pair that I could call my own.

Slight alterations through paint, dye, and materiality allow me to design one-of-a-kind sneakers never before seen.

While gaining the ability to have a sneaker that I truly want and never having to settle. As I continued, I gained a small following and have the opportunity to work with friends and family. Giving myself and others the opportunity to have a pair of sneakers that can turn heads. Using techniques learned through architectural design process I am able to work with clients and create an infinite possibility of sneakers that both myself and my clients can be proud of.

Where my custom shoe journey began: an allwhite pair of Air Force Ones. I wanted to find a way to demonstrate my appreciation for my brother, who has autism, and help spread awareness about autism.

Utilizing the two main elements in Autism Awareness campaigns— puzzle pieces and the color blue—I projected puzzle pieces onto the Nike Swoosh, and then splattered the blue on different panels of the shoes. Every time I wear these and someone comments on them, I get a chance to talk about autism, autism awareness, and my older brother.

Air Force 1’s: Autism Awareness

The collegiate basketball season had begun, and my friend wanted a pair of custom sneakers to help him stand out from the crowd. I took the primary color of his university, purple, and applied it to the Nike Kyrie Infinity’s. The two shades of purple helped create a subtle contrast on the shoes, while existing details on the shoes could be highlighted by the infusion of color into the existing design. The paint job is durable enough to withstand the wear and tear of a full basketball season and provides a unique look on the court.

Kyrie Infinity’s: Purple Infusion

After a few successful sneaker designs, I wanted to experiment with different techniques. First, I applied a colorful marble pattern to a majority of the previously allwhite sneaker to create a pop of color in a unique way, forming an organic design that can make any shoes one of a kind. Secondly, I implemented a rigid organization of white lines on a black backdrop on one panel of the sneaker. The loose colorful marble pattern and the strict black and white lines confined by stencils create a great contrast on each sneaker. These are techniques that I learned from and could apply to future sneakers for further exploration.

Nike Court Vintage Premium: Colors and Contrast

As I returned to school for another semester, I wanted to create a sneaker to demonstrate my school spirit. I took the previously all-white PUMA’s and added the signature Syracuse orange and blue, highlighting the iconic PUMA form strip and other features of the shoe. With students all over campus showing their school pride, I found a way to do it differently than any of my classmates on campus.

PUMA Smash v2: Syracuse Orange

The iconic Adidas Trefoil has been a staple of streetwear culture for decades, with the white sneaker with black stripes and the black sneaker with white stripes being two of the most dominant colorways in the Superstar sneaker collection. Combining the two into one sneaker creates a yin and yang-type effect. Split right down the middle, each side allows these two styles to come through in a single sneaker.

Adidas Superstar: Yin and Yang

With his collegiate basketball season in full swing, Jordan approached me in hopes of customizing his black and white Kyrie Infinites. Looking to integrate purple, his primary school color, with his favorite NBA player Kobe Bryant. Due to uniform restrictions from the coach, purple was subtly placed on the shoe. A small vignette of Kobe Bryant and his nickname’s sake, The Black Mamba, adorned the shoe. For the remainder of the season, Jordan graced the court accompanied by his idol.

Kyrie Infinity’s: The Black Mamba