Over the past year the reconstruction genre of sneaker customizations has been overflowing with work using exotic leathers. Some good, some great, and others just aesthetically terrible color choices and combinations. What does this leave open? Opportunity to be one of the more creative minds in the scene. No doubt one of the veterans in the recon scene is Dominic Chambrone aka The Shoe Surgeon. While he has made his fair share of customs made up of adding exotic leathers, he does not let that be the focus of his portfolio.
On this pair he transformed the simple white on white Nike Air Force 1 low to something that would likely be an instant sell out had it been an official Nike release, hyped on blogs for months and presented on some sneaker boutique store shelves. While the concept overall is based on centuries old footwear, the contemporary feel of the look is one that stands out. The all white leather upper was replaced with all red suede in an almost seamless design as the toe box, mid panel and heel panels are all one piece only distinguished by red stitching. Next the lace panel and Swooshes are of the same material but separately attached upon the one piece. That alone is fresh. But the addition of a moccasin style fringe upon the ankles takes the AF1 up another level. Details of reflective 3M Scotchlite peeking through the toebox holes, suede laces, laser engraved tongue tags and insoles made of vegetable tanned leather complete the buttery red and white custom.
As for now this pair is a 1 of 1. If you must get your own pair of Air Force 1s styled this way you can contact Dominic at TheShoeSurgeon.com or on Instagram: @TheShoeSurgeon
On foot image by @byfoley via @johngeiger_
