After seeing the LA themed Kobe VI series by Nike shoe customizer emmanueLabor decided to put his own spins on the idea. His first customization of the Kobe VI was the LA Smog pair featuring reflective scales with purple and gold accents. While in LA a few months ago during NBA All Star Weekend he picked up some authentic Venice Beach sand to use on a customization to represent the iconic LA beach. What started out as the “Glass Blue” Kobe VI luckily did not release in time for emmanueLabor’s trip to LA otherwise he may not have used the sand from Venice. That authenticity of sand from where his design represents is right on par to his usual desire to showcase a level of “realism” in his custom designs. As you can see the snake scales of the Kobe VI upper is covered in the grains of sand against the painted mesh in a matching tan. To keep the focus on the sand EL dyed the tongues and ankle lining a jet black along with painting the Swooshes. Imagine these on the Venice Beach courts. Billy Hoyle who?
For more work from EL follow him at Instagram.com/emmanuelabor
