On our second day we were given a pair of ADIDAS red wrestling boots which Mutya from MKS Official (original Sugarbabes trio formation) had picked out to be blinged up with pattern, studs and crystals............. by the end of the day and some spray paint and rolls of African wax cotton later this is what we came up with..........
General vibes down at the Olympics ADIDAS lounge in Stratford where athletes come to get there bespoke shoes attended to and even customized if they wish. Here is NASH fixing Louis Smith's bronze medal ribbon which was an exciting article to be brought in by the man himself when he came for a live Q&A on the emotional experience of winning. We are privee to many talks which we can overhear whilst stitching away ............ or use the forecourt space when the press have cleared out inbetween to have a little kick about with our spare Olympic footballs..........
Whilst customizer Craig Green was teamed with David Beckham, I drew the Stella McCartney straw and was designated the designer behind the official ADIDAS GB kit. Stella came in to meet me and pick her favourite pair of training shoes to give a brief of what she would like. Choosing the sprinter style, she asked me to create a structure to fill the negative space behind the heel when its up on its toe to make a new wedge silhouette. As an accessories designer I approached the mission to make a separate component so that she could still wear the shoe and have a keepsake memento artifact as an additional ornament. Her other wish was that I kept the colour palette "in the world of red" so when we knew Louis Smith was dropping by we asked him to bring in some of his red kit from winning bronze for the GB gymnastic team the previous day. We set about cutting up his shirts and patchworking them into dodecahedron shapes to mimic sports balls and also fit perfectly to my signature style as Stella's prints are geometric and in keeping with materials I usually select. Here is the result which we managed to finish for 7pm on the dot for her to pick up before she skipped to another studio at Stratford straight into a live interview with Gary Lineker on the BBC. It was very surreal having just given her the gift I had been intensely sewing all day to finally sit down and look up at the big screen in the ADIDAS lounge to see her on the TV. I think that sums up my whole experience of that day, from touching Louis's incredible medal and chopping up his actual kit to hand back to the original designer in a completely new format. The pressure was on working against the clock like Count Down , every stitch being monitored by the camera crew but I just took a deep breath and counted myself lucky I wasn't actually one of the athletes having to perform 4 years of training in one go infront of the whole world's live audience!!!! That perspective made it all possible! Massive props to TeamGB and their success so far ............ looking swag all the way in their Stella McCartney kit!
Here is Craig Green on his final of three days in the customising zone at ADIDAS in the Olympic park putting his midas touch to a pair of weightlifting shoes by turning them into a gold dumbbell. He had to step up to the mark on his first day taking on the ultimate challenge of being thrown David Beckham's kicks to make into a narrative of his life story. Watch Ian Pons Jewell's documentary clip which explains the process from putting the map of east London on the sole to branding the leather with his birthdate. Each designer is being put to the test of having to come up with the goods in just one day to answer the brief of capturing the current story of each moment as it unfolds - in this case, David visiting the ADIDAS photobooth to surprise fans................... see more here.
(Craig working with his team Helen Price and Helen Lawerence)
In addition to the 10 customizers transforming trainers, we are also making a group artwork on the surface of a ping pong table. The top has been divided up into days and we take it in turns to decorate an allotted space documenting the news from the various tournamonts as they unfold. Here is Ted Pearce on the first day having just drawn his version of the Opening Ceremony complete with Red Arrows leaving vapour trails from the ADIDAS stripe! And here are my underwater spots capturing the Olympic circle colours and day of swimming events. Keep up to date with the calender as it progresses and find out how to enter a competition to win it over on the ADIDAS facebook page...........
I have spent an intense few days turning round pairs of customized sneakers against the clock in the Adidas arena at The Olympic Games. Each artist has 9 hours to be assigned a design brief to transform a performance shoe into a visual representation of a story for the games happening that day. I shared the work bench with NOKI on Saturday and captured his first pair taking shape for a weight lifter - and a spontaneous customer in the form of a little visitor - see above.......... noone escapes a button gun weilding JJ Hudson! Watch Ian Pons Jewell's brilliant film for an insight into JJ's 2nd day which follows him conjuring up a concept for the women's hockey team.
Over the last year or so I have been wondering if I might get an opportunity to work on something for the Olympics. Luckily a project has fallen at my feet to customise footwear for athletes taking part in the games. Nine artists have been brought together by ADIDAS to take a residency in their arena at Stratford to apply their signature styles to the red sports shoes and transform 41 pairs in total. Illustrators, graphic designers, fashion designers, and a photographer will be assigned a specialism during the seventeen day period. Here we all are at our initial meet'n'greet on Monday when we had an introduction to the bespoke development process involved in creating each tailor made model. I had my first day down at the customising suite yesterday, turning fencing shoes into a celebration of the World's eyes on London by patchworking flags into 3D ball fobbs (more info to follow). Some shoes will be gifted to the competitors and others to collaborators on the games such as Stella McCartney who Im creating a special something for on Tuesday. The remaining performance shoes are up for grabs in a competition to open up the opportunity to the whole world of spectators so that a child in any country can win their own piece of the action. Follow the facebook link to find out more on how you can enter for the chance to acquire your own artist editions by the likes of NOKI, Nasir Mazhar, Craig Green, Nash Money, Y'OH, Teds Draws, Ranks London, Michael Mayren...............
