Nike By You x Cultivator Creator

About this Project

I had the honor of being chosen to be a Nike By You x Cultivator Creator. I was given a choice of sneaker silhouette with which to design a unique colorway inspired by a personal story along the theme of gratitude. The story and sneaker were featured on Nike's website, with the shoe available for purchase during a limited two-week period.

Story

As a huge basketball fan and sneakerhead, I used to come home from middle school and sketch my own sneaker designs. It never occurred to me at the time that I could pursue it as a career, so the opportunity to co-create with Nike definitely checks a big item off my bucket list. I knew right away that this shoe couldn't be all about me, and with HumanKIND in full swing, I decided it was a message that more people needed to hear and be reminded of.

Color Inspiration

I was given 5 Nike silhouettes to choose from, and I ultimately went with the React Presto due to its comfort and minimal design aesthetic. However, the color choices weren't fantastic, so I had to dig pretty deep to find the story within the options. I ultimately chose turquoise and gold to be the primary colors - turquoise for acceptance and gold for compassion. The base color of white stands for peace, and the black midsole represents a strong foundation of humility. The black and white are also nods to my work - white paper (the blank canvas) and black ink - and the turquoise and gold tie back into my brand Tinlun and Chinese heritage (Tin = 天 = heaven = blue/turquoise, Lun = 倫 = human relationships = compassion = gold).