Shakespeare on your sneakers?

Hand-painted sneakers are the newest rage

 

It was while strolling through Shahpur Jat, Delhi's one-stop-neighbourhood for the quaint, quirky and the kitsch, that I came across the Al-Artz store. Sneakers, with bright blue flowers and golden vines sprawled across the surface, immediately caught my eye. Just like every single object in the store, these two had been hand painted as well. For the past six years now, Alisha Bhasin, founder of the store, has been bringing Andy Warhol-inspired pop art alive on sneakers, among other things. "I do personalised, custom-made designs, besides creating ones for my catalogue," says the 27-year-old. Besides the store, her hand-painted sneakers are available on a variety of e-commerce platforms such as Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal.

If fashion gurus are to be believed, the country seems to be in the grip of a hand-painted sneaker obsession. "This has blown up to an absolute craze. Bollywood stars like Alia Bhatt and Athiya Shetty are practically living in them," says Alisha Fernandes, fashion blogger at MissMalini. From Adidas to Converse and high-end brands such as Gucci, most labels have cashed in on this obsession in a big way.

However, if it's cool chic that you are looking for, then opt for start-up labels such as Sneakaboo.in, Lazy Brats and Spirited-Soles or visit the studio of shoe designer Swati Mehrotra, who owns the label Swati Modo. While motifs ranging from birds, blossoms, Mozart notes to modern art find a place in Mehrotra's designs, for the team at Sneakaboo, the sneaker art is inspired by everyday life. "We want our sneakers to evoke an emotion in the consumers. So you have shoes painted with images of Minions, Calvin & Hobbes, Pacman, among others, to create that sense of nostalgia," says Akeel Firdous, one of the co-founders of Sneakaboo. Be it your love for rock music, backpacking, snorkelling, poetry, cricket, Jane Austen or Shakespeare - you name it and these young entreprenuers will translate your interests onto the sneakers. "Every girl I know is mad about Jon Snow from the Game of Thrones (GoT) series. So, I recently did a GoT pair featuring Snow and his wolf and, a Harry Potter pair as well," says Kolkata-based Anis Salim, who runs the label, Spirited-Soles. He is currently working on a pair inspired by the fashion capitals of the world.

 

Sneakers like these can't be whipped up in a day. It can take anything between from days to a week, depending on the intricacy of the design. The average price ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,700, with some even going up to Rs 4,500. Many like Salim source paints from Singapore and Bangkok to ensure the vibrancy in designs. "The paint needs to be locked in properly and the only precaution needed is not to overexpose them to sun or rain," says Mehrotra, who does only made-to-order hand- painted sneakers. The concept is driven by the need to create space for wearable art in the lives of the people. "We want to create an e-commerce platform where work by an artist can be appreciated and purchased," says Firdous, who currently works with 15 artists, five of whom are on the rolls and rest are freelancers.

With skirts and saris
The past year has seen some wacky pairings with sneakers. There are people who have worn these with hand-woven saris while others have teamed them up with a classic little black dress. The most interesting one that Mehrotra has seen is a platform peep toe sneaker paired with a shibori printed sari. "Since it's a big street-style staple, we've seen celebrities like Surelee Joseph and Anushka Manchanda, and many style bloggers, carry them off with outfits ranging from jeans and t-shirts to dresses and even jumpsuits, skirts, says Fernandes.