Images: Lani Tons for Ticara Devone
Honestly, its been a difficult time being creative and getting in the zone since being at home. It's different for me, someone who vlogged their daily activities, attended events weekly and enjoyed shooting their newest pickups outside. When I do get in flow I remember that creativity can't be quarantined.
Its been a while since I've tried my hand at designing a shoe, it was even called NikeID last time I created myself a pair of sneaks. (Check out these old things above). Even though we're playing inside with the swoosh and keeping up our physical well-being (shout out to those Saturday workouts), we can also stay creative and play inside with the "Nike By You" option. Nike By You is a 3D builder that encourages endless creativity to customize a Nike shoe from the upper to the airbag to the laces to tell your own story and my story took me back to '04, my high school glory days.
If you know me then you know I have a ton of school pride and so does anybody else who went to Lincoln Park High School too! High School for me was an amazing experience. I was a vocal music major and yes choir was one of my classes. Growing up I was an arts kid and attended Merit School of Music outside of school where I studied voice, piano and musical theatre. Our school colors were blue and yellow/gold and trust and believe we wore them with pride to our basketball games and football games. I grew a lot during high school. I went to a school that wasn't located in my neighborhood and was exposed to a new enviroment and created some long lasting friendships that I still have to this day. It's also where I really gained my love for shoes. I had lil' sneaker plug and used to cop my Nike's and Jordan's early. So it's only right that my design pay homage to the best school in the city.
I wanted to create a shoe that would include my high school colors but actually be something that could stand alone in my collection. I chose the Air Max 97 because it's one of my favorite silhouettes in the Air Max lineup. I also wanted the shoe to be its own moment, so if I'm wearing something extremely simple I could grab these and spruce up my look instantly.
The upper of the shoe features both "Game Royal" and "Honeycomb" alternating which is a distinct callback to the school along with a pop of "White" and "Sail" in the laces and lining. My favorite part of the shoe is the "Black" midsole and outsole and the "Game Royal" airbag. I personally do not own a pair of 97's that are blacked out in that manner or feature a colored air bag either.
You can easily create your design on a desktop or your mobile device, whatever floats your boat. You can create as many options as your heart desires, I went through about three designs until I found my inspiration. So, I'm hoping to see my final product at my door in the next couple of weeks. Maybe we'll do a little unboxing, shall we?!
If you want to #playinside and get those creative juices flowing you can design from a selection of current Air Max styles on nike.com I also want to see what you guys create so feel free to tag me on social.
Stay creative, stay safe.
