7 Best Sneaker Collabs Designed by Filipino Creatives
Whether you're an old school sneakerhead or a newbie collector, you probably have a good eye for recognizing some of the best sneaker collaborations no matter if they’re with a big name fashion house or an upcoming creative. Either way, you also know that it takes months of design work and tedious brand approvals before newborn collab pops out.
Being respected and welcomed into the sneaker community can be a long and laborious journey for anyone, but these FilAm creatives are clearly up to the task. While sneaker collabs have now become a permanent fixture in brand partnerships, not all of them put in inspiring work that is thoughtful and aesthetically solid as these designers.
Meet seven Filipino creative designers that have graced their talent with various global sneaker producers.
1. Aleali May @alealimay
Aleali May is a half FIlipino, half African-American model, stylist, sneaker designer and most recently a clothing designer for her own brand, Mayde. She grew up in South Central Los Angeles, California. She moved away to Chicago to study marketing at Columbia College. While in school, she also worked full-time at Louis Vuitton. From there, she got the opportunity with RSVP Gallery, a concept retail store owned by fashion designer, Don Crawley, and Louis Vuitton men’s former artistic director and Off-White label founder, Virgil Abloh. She took that experience and her connections when she moved back to LA. In her first major job, she styled Kendrick Lamar.
May is one of very few women to ever design Nike sneakers and the first woman of Filipino descent. She is also the first woman to create a unisex Air Jordan. No woman in Jordan Brand history has more designs than May! May’s collaboration with the Nike Jordan Brand began with the “Satin Shadow” Air Jordan 1 launch in 2017. In 2018, she released her second collaboration, “Court Lux” Air Jordan 1 in partnership with WNBA legend, Maya Moore. In 2019, she released her third Jordan collaboration, the “Millennial Pink” Air Jordan 6. Then, she designed “Califia” Air Jordan 1 and “Fortune” Air Jordan 14, making it her fifth collaboration with Nike. In celebration of her father who served in the U.S. Army, May designed the “Camo” Air Jordan 4. She currently has seven designs under her belt, making her the “Queen of Air Jordans”.
May’s designs are greatly influenced by her heritage and family. She encourages others to “Dive in deep to your heritage, that’s where your inspiration lies. That’s also where your next steps lie” (apple podcasts 2022). Her Air Jordan 1 “Satin Shadow” uses corduroy as a reference to her dad’s slippers that he used to cop from LA’s Slauson Super Mall, while her “Fortune” Air Jordan 14 design is inspired by the jade jewelry she received from her grandmothers when she was just a little girl.
May is a huge advocate for having a team and working to help each other reach their goals. May “continues to bridge the gap between two separate worlds, while representing women of color, and women who are not afraid to break barriers in their everyday lives – for the next generations to come.”
2. Louis de Guzman @louisdeguzman
Louis De Guzman is a Chigaco-based multidisciplinary artist most well-known for his take on pop culture icons like Bart Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants. De Guzman’s signature geometric abstraction style and interpretations of cartoon characters influence his playful design language on the kicks and apparel he designs. Some notable collaborations include the following: New Balance 574 LDG Ma Divina (2022), New Balance 574 LDG (2021), BAPE x Louis De Guzman (2021).
De Guzman, a second generation Filipino-American, often blends together images and stories that represent his family's immigrant journey. De Guzman honors his mother’s love for flowers in his New Balance 574 Ma Divina design. In the early 90s, his mother would design and piece together floral bouquets which she would sell to help ends meet.
De Guzman is very humbled and honored to be part of the creatives paving the way. He is just happy to be part of the conversation and contributing where he can. According to De Guzman, “The journey is the best part… the journey is ever evolving and I am going to evolve with it.” He’s always harping on staying true to yourself and to “move with confidence and love in everything that you do.”
3. Kevin Reyes @kr_0512
Kevin Reyes was born and raised in the Philippines, and migrated to the United States when he was just 20 years old. At that time, he was already a junior at the University of Santo Tomas. After his family settled in Daly City, Reyes pursued his Industrial Design degree at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. Like many kids, his dream was to become a cartoonist and play basketball for the NBA. It’s his love for sneakers, Kobe Bryant, and drawing that led him to designing sneakers.
During his senior year in college, Reyes caught the attention of global companies. He interned at New Balance, had a very brief stint as a Footwear Design Apprentice at Reebok until he received a phone call from Nike. In 2015, Reyes made his way to the Nike World headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. He started working on running shoes with a price point below $100. His debut design was the Nike Flex Contact running shoe which launched in 2019.
Reyes had the opportunity of a lifetime to be part of the innovation team for the Kobe “Mamba Focus” sneaker. In 2021, he designed Giannis Antekounmpo’s “Giannis Immortality”, part of the Zoom Freak signature series. These are just two of many designs that he’s worked on throughout his eight years as a Footwear Designer at Nike. Now, Reyes is focused on designing women’s performance running shoes. Reyes hopes to inspire the next generation of Filipino designers. He encourages others to “have fun getting lost in the process” and “have fun along the journey.”
4. Alyssa “Chi” Loyzaga Gibbs @chiiloyzagagibbs
Alyssa “Chi” Loyzaga Gibbs is an artist, musician, fashion designer and co-founder of Neon Island. Gibbs is the first woman based out of Asia to collaborate on a Jordan shoe. She’s also the second Filipino woman to design Jordans, after Aleali May. In October 2022, she designed a pair of Air Jordan 2 Lows, in collaboration with Titan, a basketball concept shop and sneaker retailer in the Philippines. It’s an ode to the Philippines’ 1954 FIBA World Championship team, which her grandfather, Carlos “Caloy” Loyzaga, was a part of. To honor him, she designed a white shoe with a tropical vibe sprinkled with orange and green, which are the Philippine team’s jersey colors. The tongue has an embroidered palm tree and basketball, which represents the country and its love for basketball.
“To say that it’s been a dream come true working with Jordan brand is one thing, but to be able to honor my grandfather’s legacy as a Filipino basketball player through this project is beyond anything I could ever imagine.” Being a part of this project is more than just honoring her grandfather’s legacy, but she hopes that it will open doors and inspire other young Asian female designers to dream big.
5. Greg Gulesarian @eggfiasco
The Iloilo-born visual artist Greg Gulesarian, otherwise known as Egg Fiasco, is known for his urban-themed neo-graffiti artworks that combine pop culture, folk themes, and tattoo art. While in college at Far Eastern University, Gulesarian worked part-time at an animation studio. He was studying fine arts in advertising, but decided not to pursue it because he became more interested in street art, graffiti, and tattooing. For three years, Gulesarian worked as a tattoo artist, which was his first job out of college.
In 2021, Gulesarian was tapped by Adidas to design his own version of the Adidas UltraBoost DNA City Pack. His childhood memories in the Philippines, playing video games, served as his inspiration. What resulted was a sneaker that referenced ’90s video games, like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and Contra.
Gulesarian’s advice is to “follow your heart and do what you do best, not because someone else is telling you what to do.” Also, he advises others to “trust the process, keep going, and keep evolving.”
6. DJ Javier @_djjavier
DJ Javier is a Filipino-American multidisciplinary artist raised in Goleta, California. He describes his style as a “graphic designer meets professional doodler meets surf rat meets rap music connoisseur”. He graduated with a graphic design degree from Azusa Pacific University where he now has a mural hall.
Javier was tapped by the skatewear and surf company, Vans, to design a new version of the Sk8-Hi top, Slip-On VR3 SF shoes and Slide-On Sandals. To honor his heritage, he included Filipino design elements such as a checkerboard flag, carabao (water buffalo), and sampaguita (Philippines National flower). He wanted to portray the Filipino culture and create something that people can recognize and be proud to wear.
Growing up, Javier didn’t have too many people to look up to. It was rare for him to come across people that looked like him, dressed like him, or part of the same culture. When he got the Vans opportunity, it was no longer a DJ and Vans collaboration, but a collaboration with Vans and the Filipino people. He wanted to help pave the way for more Filipinos to come into the space to be heard and seen.
After launching this project, Javier received really beautiful and encouraging messages from strangers. Wherever Filipino people are around the world, they come together and support one another. His advice to others is to “stay true and authentic to yourself”.
7. Raxenne Maniquiz @raxenne
Raxenne Maniquiz is a graphic artist and an international illustrator based in the Philippines. She is a fine arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas, most known for designing illustrations of flora and fauna indigenous to the Philippines. Growing up, her grandparents planted flowers and vegetables in their huge garden, which served as her source of inspiration.
Her fine textured illustrations appear in brand campaigns, product packaging, and apparel design with local and global brands including Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates, Uniqlo, MAC Cosmetics, Johnnie Walker and Shake Shack. In 2018, she hand painted common and native plants on Dr. Martens icon boots as part of their Philippines DIY campaign.
In 2020, the Nike Jordan Brand opened its first flagship store in South East Asia in Manila. Nike was looking for something different so Maniquiz was commissioned to do artwork for the store. This was outside of her comfort zone because it didn’t seem like a natural fit at first. She mixed Jordan elements like its iconic shoes + endemic native flora and fauna. She included Philippine iconography like the Jeepney, tsinelas (slippers) and makeshift basketball backboard. She also designed the shoebox for the Air Jordan 4 Retro Manila.
In September 2021, Maniquiz designed “Plant Jordans” , part of Custom 23, Jordan’s customization service available in their flagship store. This is a collection inspired by the homecoming of the Jordan Brand to the Philippines. The series features 4 Air Jordan silhouettes: 1, 3, 11, and 12. Maniquiz combined the characteristics of common, native, and endemic plants in the Philippines.
She hopes young illustrators will pursue the arts. Her advice to others is: “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and be proud of what you do.” Maniquiz doesn’t settle and continues to push herself to do better – “I have to be better and greater at what I do”. The key is to understand the brand and figure out how to add your own artistic vision. As an artist, “you have the power to interpret the project the best way you can”.
Written by Jennifer Redondo
Co-Founder and Co-Author of In Her Purpose
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