Our very first foray into a custom sneaker quickly taught us how much we as a community loved being a part of the processes in bringing a sneaker to life. The SS1 and SS2 were bespoke customs built on top of authentic Nike soles with crowd sourced feedback and ideas from the SoleSavy community. The SS3 took that a step further as we wanted to create a shoe entirely designed by the community in a series of live zoom sessions with our partners at Garrixon Studios. More on that soon!
The same time we had the idea for the SS3 (designed by the community) I was inherently curious on what would a shoe could look like designed by footwear design experts. Who could we reach out to in our networks to make this a reality? Thats how we got here with the SS4 and I want to tell the story of that shoe.
The shoe was designed by Gemo Wong and Justin Taylor, both who recently left their roles at Jordan Brand as Senior Design Director, Special Projects and Senior Foot Wear Designer, respectively. You’ve most definitely seen their work from Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony’s signature lines to the Union x Jordan 4s and KAWS Jordan 4. Their resume speaks volumes which is why we were so excited to work with them on the project.
Before we dive in, I want to highlight a few things:
- The shoe will likely cost $300 USD
- Production costs to make a custom sneaker from scratch like this bring us to $250 per shoe made with hang tag, box, special insoles and more.
- We invested in full sizing molds and tooling from size 4 mens up to 15 mens
- As much as we want to make a more affordable shoe, at the volume we will do, it’s just not possible. This is a high quality premium custom build from the ground up
- This uppers are made in America
- The sole is imported from Korea
The design details, before we explain how we got here:
- SoleSavy branded logo sole
- Glow in the dark soles
- 3M reflective moss accents
- 3M laces
- SoleSavy hang tag
- premium insoles
- Lace aglet holder
- custom molded TPU eyelet holder
- rubber mold logo patch on tongue
STEP 1 – Project Kick Off – July 27
We briefed Gemo and Justin on the goal of this shoe for a first colorway and silhouette. We wanted a shoe that was simple, easy to wear and designed for every day use. We want it to be the shoe at your front door that you wear everywhere because it checks off the right boxes (easy to wear, easy to style and it’s comfortable). Most importantly we wanted it to be something made from the ground up for SoleSavy that is our own IP but took inspiration from our combined love for sneakers.
STEP 2 – August 19 – First Sketch Review
The duo went back into the lab for 3 weeks and started working on first sketches and concepts which is what you see below. The direction was low top runner. We reviewed and discussed concepts over an hour long zoom call and this was mostly about shape and style at this early juncture.
We quickly focused in on one silhouette that stood out from the initial reviews:
STEP 3 – Design Review Part 1 – Sept 7
From there the team walked us through different iterations of the above model which included a variety of different versions. This process was really about focusing in on design aspects we liked in the shoe.
STEP 4 – Design Review Part 2 – Sept 14
That quickly moved into a more polished design idea and rendering a week later.
Step 5 – Design Review Part 3 – Sept 17
We kept pushing from there to bring a real concept to life digitally.
Step 6 – Technical Design Review – Sept 24
With the design locked in from a technical perspective, we sent off the upper files and tooling (sole) to production to have them scope out and begin work on putting the sneaker together.
Step 7 – Colorways – October 15th
With technical assets out the door, it was time to move on to colorways and materials. I don’t want to spoil some of the other colorways just yet but this was what we settled on for version 1. We wanted something that was unique in color combo (Moss/Sunglow) but still wearable enough with any outfit and style.
Step 8 – Samples, Tooling and Tweaks – Jan 8
With things on hold as we waited on production the project slowed down — holidays and Omicron did not help. By the new year we started to piece things together and begin refinements. The below is a very, very early upper and very early 3D sole print that required a lot of refinement.
Step 9 – First Complete Sample (Almost ) – Jan 27
We made the trip out to Philly to see the first production sample upper (with incorrect colors) and 3D printed sole aligned with it. It’s really starting to come together but still needs work and refinement.
Feb 11 – First Wearable Sample – Feb 11
7 months later I have my first wearable sample on foot and it’s an AMAZING feeling. We feel the shoe is 90% there but still requires work and refinement across various aspects (materials, tooling, tongue, toe box). We’ve sent all this feedback back to production and are working on a second sample in the coming weeks. But for now here is the sole and shoe on foot!
What comes next?
- A new more refined and finalized sample with a new tongue, updated materials, refined sole tooling (slimmer) and toe box improvements (also slimmer).
- We have to decide an amount for production and the project
- Estimated ship date: Early Julu