Jamie Winstone recently commissioned these handmade adidas Samba for her Wedding party.
A good friend of hers who works with adidas, supplied a pair of adidas Samba with a dark gum sole. As the silhouette has been seriously popular this year, sourcing a suitable pair proved very difficult in the correct size. I decided I would have to remake the upper. I wanted to source some premium suede, rather than use smooth leather, which you’d normally associate with this shoe. But importantly, I also needed a shoe last in the correct size. So, after removing the sole I sent it and a larger Samba shaped last, off to Springline in Northampton. They managed to get a last made and back to me just in time. I knew I wouldn’t have time to test patterns and materials properly, so I jumped straight in. I drew out the basic pattern and looked online for suitable off white suede. I managed to snap up this beautiful, if a little thick, calf suede. The kind premium stuff used on West End Bespoke shoes. Along with some smooth leather stripes, heel strip and grey suede for the toe box, I handmade the upper, cutting and skiving by hand. I had already set up a mood board of sorts on the FreeForm app, so Jaime and I could share images and ideas via the ‘cloud’. It was clear to me that Jaime’s style was as gliterringly fabulous as it is was wild and punky. So I wanted to add something less refined to the upper. The colour and texture of vintage denim fit the brief perfectly. My idea was to design the heels in two layers. By cutting and fraying the denim (like we all did as teenagers) you could reveal a glittery silver leather beneath. I also made a collage from all the imagery she sent me and printed this to velour to cover the footbed. I used her bespoke wedding logo and applied this in gold foil to the tongue, but also added the couple’s names, one on each shoe.
It was great fun to work with Jaime on these, I think they compliment her outfit and the details reflect her vibrant character. Read more about her amazing wedding and the pieces she wore, in VOGUE.
Snapshots of Jaime’s wedding are from her Instagram feed.
October 2023