AARON ROSE x DC ARTIST SERIES

Back to the shoes… when you approached the product design, did you think much about what kids might be getting into or did you simply suit yourself?
I just tried to make a cool shoe. Something that me and my friends wanted to wear. I always think that’s the best philosophy in anything you make.

And did DC allow you total creative freedom?
Pretty much, within the limitations of their manufacturing capabilities. From my experience, some brands have a weird idea of collaboration. It’s like they already know what they want and they expect you to simply rubber-stamp their ideas. Have you had experiences where brands have asked you to do something perverse (in a creative sense) in return for cash? I get offers like that all the time, but I just decline them. Those kinds of collaborations aren’t good for me or them.

Do you think having a ‘career’ gets in the way of the creative act? How do you see that inherent friction between paying the bills and staying true to yourself?
I don’t think about career. My life and my art are one thing. I don’t ‘go to work’ like normal people. I’m always working and I’m always living. The two are totally intertwined. That is the life of an artist. It’s true that one has to make money, but making money is an art too. If you just think about getting dough the same way you would do something else it all tends to work out. I’m far from rich, but I eat every day... that’s cool with me.

I was interested when Damon Way said that this would be the final DC Artist Series release. How do you feel knowing you’re the last of a pretty interesting line-up of talent?
It’s an honor! DC was the first company to do artist collaboration shoes. Since then everyone and their mother has copied them. To be the final statement in that legacy is a great place to be. I’m stoked they stopped doing it. There are too many new vistas
to explore.