I have created three hand made pairs of sneakers for John Tierney in the past, so it was great to hear he had an idea for new pair. All the previous pairs I have done for him were low tops; two shell toes and one half shell. So this time he wanted a high top. His idea was to fuse the hightop adidas Pro Model (a basketball shell toe from the ’70s and ’80s) with the iconic Timberland work boot (a ’90s Hip Hop fashion staple). What’s more he wanted to add a leather rand in the same way I had previously done on my Sugar Hill Superstars. He wanted to go with a wheat coloured nubuck with dark brown leather accents. The pattern and just how these icons would be fused, was left to me. I borrowed design cues from the Pro Model and the Timberlands, keeping elements of each and making aspects that looked familiar – in keeping. For example, the Timberland boot is like a Derby Boot construction with four lines of stitching that run horizontally to the forefoot, dividing the upper. I decided to use 3 stitch lines for what would be the Pro Model’s quarter lining stitch – the stitch at the heel that keeps the internal stiffener and padding in place. So, it looks like a Promodel but there’s something Timberland about it, if that makes sense. I kept the collar padding Timberland style and kept the rest Pro Model. I made him vegetable tanned counters and a full veg-tan lining. As usual, everything was cut and skived by hand and the shoe was soled to an adidas Superstar 82 sole unit and toe piece. What we created looks to me like it might have been worn in 1989 on Main St USA, hence the name.
February 2023
