You’ve come a long way since then. What design has had the biggest response?
Definitely the Yeezy BOOST 350 v2 I created using ECCO transparent leather. It gained some serious traction and ended being featured in some pretty big online magazines everywhere from Mexico to China! I would say it took off because it challenged the physical make-up of the shoe — it didn’t just add collaboration credentials to a popular silhouette. I actually have some of that leather at home. It truly has to be seen to be believed!
How has your approach evolved since you first began?
When I was starting out, I was doing pretty minor stuff like changing colours and swapping soles, mostly just for kicks that I liked. Since then, I have become more involved in the streetwear scene and stay pretty up to date with it. Having that information keeps the concepts relevant to what's going on at that point in time.
The other major change is that I now put an emphasis on just sitting down and getting the work done, rather than waiting for a good idea. If there is one thing I have learnt, it’s that you can never guess which concept is going to do well. There have been some I have done that I wasn’t happy with personally, but they were really well received by the community.