How to own a pair of sneakers that no one else has

Your cheat sheet to the country’s coolest sneaker customisers

A few years ago, if someone had asked me to draw up a list of the most sought-after fashion items, sneakers would’ve probably not featured at the top. Today, however, it’s safe to say that the shoe once associated with athletic activities alone has seen a seismic shift in status. It has found a firm footing in the most unexpected places—whether it’s underneath a bridal lehenga or in the collections of hallowed houses.

Sneakers are now better defined as collectables than closet staples and, like most collectables, customisation is crucial in elevating their exclusive appeal by several notches. The overwhelming number of options that show up when you key ‘sneaker customisers’ into your search bar stand as proof. But customising your kicks is not as clear-cut as it seems.

For sneakerhead Amandeep Singh Parmar, who goes by @_thatshoeguy_ on Instagram, customising one’s sneakers is an earned right. “The key is to do it right and not do it first. Don’t jump on the custom bandwagon until you’re ready; it’s like getting a tattoo on an impulse,” he says. To make this task a little less daunting for first-timers, we curated a cheat sheet to the country’s coolest customisers that’ll speak to your sole (pun intended), and asked them common questions that crop up when you’re committing to customisation.

Brushtler

Mumbai-based Sanaya Irani aka Brushtler’s Instagram feed is home to the most diverse designs. There's a pair of sneakers with a single line of text along its edge; another pair features intricate paintings of Dexter, Popeye and other cult cartoon characters. This variety is a result of the one piece of advice she swears by. “You do you—keep it simple or go all out. I’ve done minimally designed shoes and I’ve done crazy, colourful shoes, and each one has its own charm. The only thing I would ask someone to refrain from doing is to give me the liberty to pick the design,” says Irani, whose process always starts with a detailed conversation with her clients. Count on her to convert kicks of your choice into a canvas that brings back childhood memories, celebrates your current favourites or makes you time-travel.

Price: Starts at ₹ 5000, contact: brushtler@gmail.com

FOGI

Scraps of fabric found on factory floors and discarded denim laser-etched with Kimono-inspired prints are some of the materials Nishant Fogaat, founder of FOGI ( Full of Great Ideas), has used to create the sneakers he’s most proud of. “Having studied fashion, I prefer including fabrics of all kinds [to create sneakers]. Sustainability is at the core of the materials we use and we aspire to find a way to tell stories by using parts of upcycled clothes which have a sense of history for the consumer,” says Fogaat, who believes that customisation isn’t about falling prey to the latest trends, and only caters to clients who share a similar point of view. “We turn down projects which lack soul and take on only those which convince us that the purpose of the customisation is meaningful,” he adds. His one-of-a-kind works—Fogaat doesn’t creates two pieces that are exactly alike—have found fans in the likes of Virat Kohli and Badshah and have grabbed the attention of footwear giants Puma and Nike too.

Price on request, contact: hello@fogaat.com

Unhinged Customs

Rahul Dev of Unhinged Customs has been in the business of customising sneakers since 2016 and is frequently approached for his expertise in anime. “People who follow me think that’s all I do but I can’t complain—it gives me an opportunity to watch beautifully animated shows. For some requests, I’ve watched as many as 20 episodes from several series including Naruto, One Piece, My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer to understand the aesthetics and make sure I capture the right scenes and elements,” says Dev, whose initial interactions with clients involve four key steps. “I need a theme or detailed description, followed by the base shoe with the size, a budget range which includes the cost of the base shoe, and a design advance,” he says. Follow his work on Instagram to see the coolest customs served alongside calming snippets of him mixing colours and gliding brushes over pristine white sneakers with precision.

Price: Starts at ₹12,000 for canvas sneakers and ₹20,000 for leather sneakers, contact: +917893458003

The Studio Project

You name it and she can customise it. Kanika Ranka Adani, the name behind The Studio Project, helps put a personal touch on everything from skateboards to sneakers. What all her work has in common is a generous dose of playfulness. She’s your go-to person if you want a picture of your pup on your shoes or if you want your Nike Swoosh spray-painted in sunshine shades. When asked about her most challenging customisation till date, Ranka Adani is quick to answer. “One of the most detailed customisations I’ve done is for a six-month-old boy. The clients wanted sneakers that matched the father’s and the request was very specific. The design was that of a panda in swim-shorts eating a pizza. They knew the kind of shorts they wanted and where the waves would be placed. While the father’s shoes were easy, the six-month-old’s were tricky, given how small they were,” she says.

Price: Starts at ₹ 7000, contact: kanika.ranka@gmail.com

Courtside

“The great thing about designing sneakers is that most requests we receive come from a common place of people wanting to wear things that reveal more of their personality, something that mass-produced sneakers are not able to do,” says Saigun Grover. His thinking is reflected in the motto of his New Delhi-based brand Courtside, which reads ‘be a little different’. Although it hasn’t been too long since Grover entered the customisation game, he has already amassed close to 20,000 followers on Instagram not just for his painstakingly detailed artwork but also for his reflective styles that come to life when the sun sets and his deft deconstruction that’s not for the faint-hearted.

Price on request, contact: hello@courtside.store

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