Shoe collaborations

Over the past few years, sneakers have begun to serve as a canvas for artists and design companies alike. What better easel to display creativity than footwear? Whether it is with Schumacher fabric, de Gournay wallpaper, or the artwork of Keith Haring, there is no doubt that such collaborations are both relevant and innovative in today’s day and age.

Margaux footwear is designed in New York and handmade in Spain; the company’s mission is to (courtesy of Margaux’s site) “make a beautiful, more comfortable shoe.” Last year, the company worked with the design house Schumacher to create a series of five classic silhouettes. Each style, The Demi, Ballet Mule, The Pointe, Mule, and Flat Sandal, looks precisely as though it was designed to be styled in a Schumacher print.

The collaboration was the brainchild of Margaux’s founders, Sarah Pierson and Alexa Buckley. Ironically, it was the pandemic that brought about this innovative idea. Courtesy of La Dolce Vita, Pierson said, “We are not just in a moment where people are excited to get dressed again, but also people are shopping and looking more than before for really special things.”

This idea is not new… In 2018, Edgardo Osorio, the creative director and founder of the Italian company Aquazzura, searched for an innovative collaboration to “shake things up”. As quoted to WWD, “I’m obsessed with interiors.” He continued, “It was quite a complicated process, using a wallpaper and adapting it to shoes. It took us a very long time and was a long process, but the final effect was amazing. The print that I used from de Gournay was called the Amazonia. It’s a jungle print — but in pink.”

The pattern de Gournay adhered to Aquazzura’s shoes is called “Amazonia.” The unique collaboration spawned across five shoe styles… seamlessly combining the aesthetics of both brands. Each shoe is a true work-of-art featuring the intricate embroidery of a tropical design set on a pink or light blue background.

Slightly different but along the same lines, Sarah Flint partners with Samuel & Sons, the renowned trim and finishings company. Founded around the turn of the century, the company teams up with top artisans and family-owned factories in Italy to produce their collection of trim and furnishings. The two brands created a capsule collection of strikingly decorated shoes.

Similar to the shoes, each trim and furnishing is handmade in Italy. Flint told Veranda, “I am constantly inspired by interior design and have always admired the vast selection and exceptional craftsmanship that is signature to the Samuel & Sons brand. Because of our mutual love of design and dedication to detail, the partnership with Samuel & Sons was a natural fit.”

In 2015, the Andy Warhol Foundation collaborated with Converse. Represented were images ranging from the artist’s iconic Campbell soup cans to various Warhol newspaper clippings. The following year, the collection expanded to Warhol’s graphic poppy flower and bandana prints. The irony is that Warhol himself collaborated with fashion designers during his lifetime; for example in the 1970’s, the artist teamed up with the fashion icon, Halston.

Last year, DC Shoes honored Jean-Michel Basquiat’s legacy with a collaboration that featured 21 paintings from the artist’s most prolific twelve months, 1981-1982. That year was Basquiat’s (at the time a 21-year-old’s) most creative period; it is now forever immortalized with the DC x Basquiat Collection.

The common thread shows that there is a true and lasting connection between art and fashion. Along the same lines, there is a style for everyone. Wearing high fashion and contemporary art has never looked so good!