words & interview // Nick DePaula
as published in Issue 45 of Sole Collector Magazine, the 10th Anniversary Issue
In the footwear and apparel industry, brands can often churn out products season after season that simply fit into predetermined “target consumer” grids or fulfill a safely planning retailer’s request.
And then there’s Jeremy Scott’s self-titled capsule collection with adidas Originals. Always looking to push the boundaries of footwear and challenge our traditional apparel dimensions, Scott enjoys unparalleled freedom with his line season after season.
Read ahead for more on his decade-long relationship with the brand, his unique approach to design and what he thinks of the love / hate response his collections always evoke in this classic interview from the summer of 2011.
Excerpted from Issue 38. Check here to read the full interview.
Nick DePaula: What was it about adidas that was attractive for you?
Jeremy Scott: What I love about adidas is they’ve always had a really organic connection to pop culture. It’s been about music, fashion and inspiration, and it’s always been very genuine in that sense. When rave culture was all about adidas, they weren’t freaked out about it, they said, “Ok, cool!” They even realized that their vintage logo has another meaning to some people, and when Run D.M.C. said they loved adidas, they embraced it. I think that’s what’s really important about adidas, compared to nameless brands that I won’t get into that are kind of phobic of when pop culture embraces them.
As compared to trying to be something called sportswear. Of course this is a sportswear brand, and it was founded that way and I don’t think anyone would ever dispute that, but that’s what’s cool about adidas to me, is that they have this really genuine and organic feel. I’m such a kid of pop culture and it’s such an inspiration to me constantly, so for me, that’s why I work with adidas. I really believe that, and it’s so genuine and ingrained.
NDP: Since you launched your first collection, it’s included both shoes and apparel. What’s been the driving force behind the apparel for the past few years?
JS: I think it’s really important to expanding the whole vision. I’m excited to be doing shoes, because that’s something I don’t necessarily do on my own. Especially sneakers, and I’ve always loved icons. But, of course, I really love playing with all of the iconography of the brand, like the Three Stripes and the Trefoil. I love doing new things with the cuts, and I’m also fortunate that our company has such iconic apparel that other brands don’t have. There are very, very classic things here, and I love riffing off of that constantly, like taking a staple jacket and making a whole new contraption out of it basically. That’s something that’s so a part of my design DNA in a way. To see something and alter it, and I love that I have a lot to play with here.
NDP: When you guys first started talking about the footwear collection, did you have an approach in mind? Your direction is at times more abstract than what adidas Originals would normally do, of course.
JS: To a degree, sure. They came to me and said, “Hey, here’s carte blanch to design. We love what you do and we love what you’ve done with us on these other projects.” They all became such successes that it was evident to them that I love and respect the brand, but I also take it someplace that it hasn’t been before and that they’re not doing internally. Maybe that’s because it’s such a singular, personal vision. They really just wanted me to do something that continues on our past, and it went from there.
NDP: When you designed the Wings model, which is definitely a model that people have really adopted, what was the concept behind that?
JS: Well, there were a few different ideas. First of all, I wanted to do something that brought a new volume to the foot.
NDP: That’s really interesting.
JS: Yeah, and I was thinking about how I could do that, and still not impede people’s walk. How can you bring the eye to a new volume, but not make it look like a clown shoe? I was thinking about this extension, and it just naturally gravitated to me as a winged shape. From ideas of Greek statues and antiquity, to the concept of basketball players flying through the air to do a slam dunk, all of those elements came together. I had used wings in my own work in periodic places, and it was always an image that I loved as an optimistic and uplifting image that people could have a good feeling about. There’s nothing sinister about wings. [Laughs] I also liked the idea of making something that could be convertible. You could take it off, but I guess nobody really does. [Laughs]
NDP: Exactly. Nobody takes it off.
JS: Yeah. [Laughs] But that was the thought, to just always try and create something new.
NDP: What kind of response have you gotten from friends of yours and fellow designers?
JS: Everyone has always been really supportive of it. Everyone is also a little jealous sometimes [Laughs], because they can’t believe I have the freedom that I have. But, it’s coupled with the fact that the shoes make really good numbers and they sell out, so it’s working both ways. Yeah, I’m thrilled to get to do something that I love and believe in and it’s something new for the brand, but also, it’s very successful.
Normally, that’s not something that goes together. You can get great PR and have the story of a collection like this, but you might not have the overall sales. Or, you can have an executive saying, “We sold the hell out of this!” But it might be a boring shoe that no one really loves to talk about. We’ve been able to enjoy this odd mix of success and creativity that doesn’t always happen.
NDP: What are some of your favorite models from the brand that you’ve taken a liking to over the years?
JS: I do love the Attitude, which I base a lot of shoes off of. I’ve always loved hi-tops since I was a kid. I found a picture the other day where I was like eight and I had on hi-tops and sweats pushed up to my thighs. I just thought, “Oh, I still dress this way.” [Laughs] I love the Attitude, and I would really do every shoe on the Attitude. Sometimes I have to force myself off of the Attitude, because there’s really no one else to tell me no. I’m like, “Ughhh, try another model!! [holds hands over neck] Try … another … model!” [Laughs] That one is always one of my all-time favorites.
NDP: I once wrote an opinion column titled “I Love That I Can Hate These,” and it was about the pink Teddy Bears. That might not be something that I would necessarily wear, but I just love that that’s able to be a shoe and something that a company would stand behind. Some people weren’t as positive about them, of course, and what’s it been like listening to the responses of people that haven’t taken a liking to some of the models you’ve done?
JS: Every now and again, someone will tweet me a link to something online about a new shoe and how excited they are. So I’ll click on it to see what they’re talking about. Then, you’ll see other people talking, and obviously I see it sometimes, and a couple of times I’ve thought, “You know, this is so fucking annoying.” [Laughs] People can be so mean.
NDP: Well, it’s digital courage.
JS: Digital courage. That’s brilliant! I’ve never heard that, and it’s brilliant, but it’s true. Sometimes they’re just cruel and evil, and you know what, they’ll say, “Oh, well who would buy it or who would wear it?” Well, it’s not like this is a charity that’s going on here. My contracts don’t get ruined just because I’m cute. It’s because I’m doing something successful on both realms. You also just have to realize that something might not be for you. There’s a huge world out there, much less, our brand is a huge brand, and we have all kinds of variety in there. I am speaking for certain people, and sometimes people will say, “Oh, well that’s just a pop star wearing it.” Well yeah, I can go through a litany of lists of pop stars that wear it. The fact is, it’s affordable and available for real people too, and that’s what was important to me about this whole thing. That’s one of the reasons I decided to do it, to help make interesting, exciting and avant-garde items affordable and accessible.
I don’t believe that there’re not people out there – and I’ve been proven that it’s true – that don’t want something interesting or exciting or new. Often, that’s not affordable or even available, because so much of that is only existing in high fashion, my original home where I’m at. It doesn’t get anywhere else from there sometimes, because we’re this other, separate thing – fah-shun!! I’ve always been a populist, even though I’m in a very elitist category, by being a fashion designer, in a lot of respects.
I love that people wear my clothes. I want to see people wearing my clothes and I feel very fulfilled by that. When I say people, I mean people on the streets. Of course I love seeing Rihanna wearing my clothes, for multiple reasons, besides the fact that she’s just an adorable person. [Laughs] Of course I love that millions more people will see it, and all of that is exciting and I’m happy for that. It’s not that I’m not as equally happy or excited when I see someone on the street wearing it, though.
I’m always like, “That’s amazing. I just walked by someone that’s wearing a piece of me.” It makes me very happy, and I’m thrilled about that. I usually just say [to criticism], “Come on people, there’s more than just your view out there.” I don’t go around talking shit about things that people wear that I think are boring. I just let it go.
NDP: Like this black shirt and black hoody that I’m wearing – probably boring.
[Everyone laughs]
JS: No! [Laughs] But, you know, a lot of these sneaker blogs have things that I think are completely innate and I have no idea why people are even excited about it. [Laughs] I don’t get it! And it’s fine, and I don’t have to, because it’s great that people love that and it’s great that people love my stuff. I’m just lucky to have so many people that like my stuff, and I never want to digress and get mad when I see people’s comments sometimes and they’re being disrespectful or childish.
