Shoe Surgeon Sneaker School
Air Jordan 1
Sneaker Deconstruction + Reconstruction
Through a course provided by the Shoe Surgeon Academy, I designed and built a custom sneaker. The process involved deconstructing an existing shoe, building the pattern and constructing a new sneaker. I decided I wanted to create an Air Jordan 1 based off of a 2020 Dodge Charger
Inspiration
Deconstruction
The process started by taking an existing Jordan 1 and deconstructing in order to learn about the various pieces that encompass a shoe.
Colorway and Material
As I traced the panels on the leather I realized I wouldn’t have enough material to execute the concept design. Attempting to keep the lateral side as true to the original design as possible I only switched the Swoosh to white, while the medial side I switched to a white quarter panel and used a black Swoosh.
Design Decisions:
Black base with blue overlays to reflect the color blocking on the car as accurate as possible. I really enjoyed how this shade of blue popped as overlays over the black base layers.
Black sole to represent the tires
Red thread for stitching to match the interior accents on the car
Multiple color option of laces including yellow to match the safety bumper that came with the car.
As much leather as possible because it’s easy to clean and durable in various elements.
Views of the lateral and medial sides with the different lace colors
Construction
The final design changes came when I found a pair of Jordan 1s that had a carbon fiber pattern Swoosh. I also decided to use a piece from the original pair that I deconstructed to use as the back tab to represent the taillights. These last two elements tied in the car theme together.
Air Jordan 1 “Dodge”
