Custom Jordans: are they fakes? Or is there more to sneaker culture than merely making money, as evidenced by the labor-intensive artistic skill involved in repainting inexpensive shoes?
In Randallstown, Maryland, Cory Bailey first began drawing when he was a young child. He filled pages with whirling compositions of people and mathematics. By the time he started high school, Bailey had honed his writing skills to the point where he could surprise anyone looking over his shoulder.
“I used to paint pictures of celebrities like Lil Wayne and other guys like that because I was really into that kind of thing. Even back then, I took great satisfaction in my attention to detail, so I recreated every tattoo on the pictures I was creating, recalls Bailey. Bailey’s decision to concentrate on tattoo art was satisfying enough for him to leave college after his first year. In his spare time, he practised drawing designs on inexpensive shoes, primarily Vans and Converse, to improve his skills. He and a friend decided to rent a kiosk in the Towson Mall to sell some items with Bailey’s designs, and that was when they finally got a break. To add some room, I made the decision to fill the back half of it with shoes that I had made.
More purchases were placed, including a set of cleats for wide receiver Marlon Brown. The NFL took note and put Bailey’s artwork in front of thousands of people by showcasing the elaborate shoes on its webpage. It gave him the boost he needed to advance his career as a shoe designer and made it clear that his professional future will not involve tattoos.
Additionally, it provided him with the model for his very first iconic appearance. It’s ironic, he says, because the galaxy pattern, which he created around the iconic Ravens shield emblem, has become one of his signature styles, for which he is most well-known and frequently imitated.
Over the past five years, Bailey, 27, has advanced swiftly in the bespoke sneaker world. He has created designs under the name Sierato for well-known hip-hop artists including Chris Brown and Roddy Ricch as well as players like Andre Drummond and LeBron James Jr. The growth of his company and reputation coincided with a peak in public interest in the art and craft of customising shoes, notably basketball shoes and especially fake airJordan. He is competing for a spot alongside established customizers like Dank, JBF, Mache, the Shoe Surgeon, and others whose names are now an indelible, if occasionally contentious, part of sneaker culture. This culture, along with the “secondary” market for resales, is expected to soon be worth $95 billion.
Others go into full Dr. Frankenstein mode, unstitching and resewing entire panels to produce shoes that make you doubt their origins entirely. Some customizers are best recognised for their painting skills. Pure artistic expression may occasionally be the aim. Selling shoes that have been painted to look exactly like a rare model but only cost a fourth as much is more shady at other times. Particularly custom Jordans have sparked countless discussions over what constitutes real and phoney, “replica” versus “authentic,” and whether or not all of this effort is merely stylish. Repainting your inexpensive Jordans has become almost like a real-life sneakerhead meme, and everyone has an opinion.
Many customizers draw their interest from a point of straightforward pragmatism. David Navarro, 25, became inspired to start painting Jordans after repeatedly observing how consumers favoured the same models and colours. I just wanted to be a little different, he claims. And I understood that I could make my own shoes for a much, much lower cost than paying X dollars for a pair that makes me stand out.
Since his senior year of high school, Navarro has been repainting sneakers, and he has recently gained popularity by showcasing his designs and methods on YouTube as Davidgotkicks. He acquired his knowledge similarly to Bailey through a gradual process of trial and error, assisted by a few hazy instructions and discussions on sneakerhead forums. It’s a learning process that isn’t too dissimilar from the pioneers who, in his words, have “airbrushed shoes at malls and boardwalks for decades now.”
The distinction is that the current demand is being fueled by public attention and cachet in particular, due to Instagram and YouTube. Bailey agrees: “Social media has definitely had the biggest influence on this area of work and creativity. Before the advent of Instagram, I didn’t pay any attention to it or notice any reputation surrounding it.
