Sneaker Speculation’s interview series, “The Resume”, a quick fire feature spotlighting creatives within the sneaker community. Through concise, engaging conversations, we get to know the individuals shaping sneaker culture, what they do, what inspires them, and how they first got involved. The Resume serves as a platform to highlight both established and emerging voices, fostering deeper connection and integration within the ever-evolving world of sneakers. We introduce Trevor Duffles, a footwear colour & material designer at Adidas Originals and a sneaker customiser in his own time.
I AM…
A footwear color & material designer for Adidas Originals, and have been with the brand for a little more than four years at their downtown LA design studio. With two years at Jordan Brand and a year of independent design experience before that, I have been in the corporate footwear design industry for over 7 years now; however, I have been custom painting shoes for over 23 years.
MY FIRST PAIR OF SNEAKERS WERE…
While I was always wearing some cool sneakers as a little kid, I didn’t start really paying attention to them until I got my first pair of white-on-white Air Force 1 Mids and black Jordan 17s.
I GOT INTO FOOTWEAR DESIGN BECAUSE…
After graduating college, I did custom sneakers full-time for a year. It was very difficult to scale my business, and I decided I wanted to continue designing footwear, but on a corporate level so I could actually earn a living while doing what I loved. The passion for creating footwear has been burning inside me since I was just a kid, and it never stopped. Turning this passion into a real career was a dream that I worked on for nearly two decades to bring to life.
I STARTED SNEAKER CUSTOMISING BECAUSE…
I have been drawing and painting my entire life. Blending that with my infatuation with sneakers around 11-12 years old, I would paint old shoes that needed some new life. This grew and grew to the point where I began making custom sneakers for other people, started getting notoriety online during the birth of Instagram and modern social media, and went all out upon graduating from college.
A SNEAKER DESIGN OR TREND I WISH WOULD COME BACK IS…
I miss the days when collaborations felt authentic and not everyone wanted the same sh*t. The dunks between 2005-2010 were an era of unmatched creativity in collaborations that feels hard to replicate. Perhaps it’s the size of the industry now? Maybe our consumer habits and the profit-driven nature that has encompassed the corporations making these shoes have grown to a scale that doesn’t support this type of authenticity and creativity in the sneaker world as much as it used to… I’d love to bring back sneaker releases with no social media and more guerrilla styles of marketing. Maybe I’m just getting old, and the nostalgia of the past is catching up to me haha.
MY HOLY GRAIL IS…
Jordan 17s (any of the OGs from the early 2000s), Eggplant Foamposites, Original “De La Soul” SB Dunks, “Dunkle” Dunks and the OG adidas Kobe 1
SNEAKER SPECULATION 