June 18, 2019 9:32 pm

Wednesday, Sneakerheads Unite – We Lace Up and Check Out the World of Sneaker Design

It’s happened to me, maybe it’s happened to you. You see a hot pair of sneakers in the streets and you think, “Woah, I wouldn’t mind having those. They’re avant-garde, elusive, and fun.” You go online to try and find them…and they’re $560 per pair. There goes that. Or, maybe not.

On this episode of Playing with Science, hosts Gary O’Reilly and Chuck Nice sit down with some of the sneaker world’s most knowledgeable and well-known names. You’ll be hearing from award-winning designer D’Wayne Edwards, cutting edge sneaker designer and influencer Federico Maccapani, a.k.a. @Mbroidered, and Ezra Wine, a person who has his ear to the streets of NYC to inform us on sneaker culture.

We start with D’Wayne. Discover more about his background and how he came to be a sneaker designer. He tells us about his first temp job at LA Gear and how that propelled him to design sneakers starting at the age of 19. We discuss the science of sneaker design and you’ll find out why there’s a lot more science than one might have thought. D’Wayne weighs in on the Nike shoe fiasco that happened when Duke star Zion Williamson’s shoe blew out on court. We investigate all the facets of sneaker design and all the fields in which a designer must be versed o make a great shoe. D’Wayne also enlightens us about the Pensole Footwear Design Academy, which he founded.

Then, Federico Maccapani stops by the studio to take us through his process. You can find his creations on his Instagram page @Mbroidered, which takes you behind-the-scenes on some of his creations. You’ll also find out why he uses nature as inspiration and if artificial intelligence will ever design shoes. He explains how his Hybrid Predator Precision OG 2000 x Harden Vol. 1 came to fruition, evolving from his love of the Predator brand. Federico also tells us his favorite shoe of all time. Learn about the adidas ZX4000 4D “Carbon,” a shoe made using 3D printing

Lastly, NYC fashionista Ezra Wine gives us a history lesson on how we got where we are now. You’ll learn about the story of the Air Jordan I, why it changed the NBA, and how it ignited sneaker culture. We ponder the marketing strategies of big brands like Nike and adidas and how they create crazy hype around their releases. All that, plus, get details on how releasing sneakers has evolved from 1984 to present day..

Please join us tomorrow night for Sneakerheads and Sneaker Design right here on our website, as well as on our Playing with Science channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Spotify, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free.

That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen