Milwaukee, Wisconsin, isn’t a city known for its budding fashion a scene but Chris Hui, a young creative from the city, was inspired by the cool kicks he saw around him and opted to take matters into his own hands.
Whilst studying Business at University, Chris became obsessed with hand-crafted design and soon enough what started as a passion project transformed into a thriving business of customising sneakers for the hip-hop greats.
After being approached by adidas during his studies, Chris completed an internship at the company where his passion for designing sneakers continued to develop, and the rest is history.
We caught up with Chris at the EQT Creator Studio in London to find out about his inspirations and creative process.
The EQT Creator Studio is open to drop in daily from 10am-4pm at: Victoria House, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4DA. For more on EQT, head over to adidas.co.uk.
What has been essential in your creative journey as a designer?
Perspective on the culture. I think in our line of work, it's easy to approach things like a business as we are a brand; I still feel like a consumer, and I always will. As a designer, you're constantly challenged to represent culture but how do you put culture into a black and white shoe? It's this challenge which is essential to my motivation as a designer.
What do you think is essential for your work with adidas?
I think, first and foremost, staying true to values of which the company was founded on, this is the foundation of our work. But aside from that, I think it's about connecting with people, tapping into sub-cultures through designers outside of the box to stay fresh and creative. And I think we've found a nice balance.
"We wanted to create the purest interpretation of a sneaker."
What inspired the latest adidas EQT 93/17?
The story of EQT began when former Nike designers proposed the formation of EQT to their most fierce rivals. That was really the re-birth of adidas, which is why the colour green is symbolically used in designs for the EQT. It was inspired by life's basic but most accomplished pieces of equipment, like the hammer. That's where the quote derives from. We wanted to created the purest interpretation of a sneaker. Now we're in 2017 and we still abide by this logic but have updated our language with a fresh and new perspective.
What do you hope to achieve in your work with adidas?
We maintain the thought of 'what do we want our brand to look like 20 years from now?' I honestly believe we have a really sharp and unique perspective in the marketplace right now, and we hope to continue to stay creative and connected to the culture.
