In a world of mass manufacturing, it’s refreshing when you can still get something custom-made. Whether it’s a brand new suit, custom sunglasses, headphones, or sneakers, there’s no feeling that compares to actually being a part of the design process.
On Saturday, the Dapper Guide team hit up the NikeiD Studio in Manhattan’s SoHo, only to discover that the small shop no longer does NikeiD custom kicks, but only Bespokes. For NikeiD kicks that don’t cost a small fortune ($800+ for Bespokes), we had to head up to Niketown on 57th and 5th Ave.
But you can’t just waltz right in and start designing. You need to call Nike up and make an appointment. And so we did.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by two NikeiD experts — Kenny and Auddi — who were prepared to help us get exactly what we wanted, and maybe a little more. These Niketown vets were professional and well-trained; they knew their sneaker history.
In the course of 90 minutes, we drafted up and revised three pairs of custom “DG14” (Dapper Guide 2014) kicks in three different styles, going back and forth on colors, accents, and materials.
The key to a successful NikeiD experience is being open — clear about what you want on your feet. Ask questions and request to see what materials and colors look like in real life. They’ll happily bring out swatches and sneakers from their vault to show you.
Finished custom NikeiD sneakers arrive in 3-4 weeks, depending on the model. We’re not going to spoil the finished products yet (we haven’t received them yet), but here are a few teaser shots we posted to our Instagram. We’ll unveiling the colors and a detailed walkthrough of the design process in a few weeks, so stay tuned for that.
Dapper Guide’s Managing Editor Bruce Leong working with Niketown’s Kenny to bring his Air Max 1 from concept on the iMac to reality.
Different sneakers come with different color options. Ask to see swatches, as the actual color in real life will differ slightly from what’s shown on screen.
The three final designs. From top to bottom: Flyknit Lunar2 iD, Air Max 1 Premium iD, and Dunk Low BE True iD. If you can successfully guess what the colors schemes are, tweet us with the hashtag #DG14NikeIDcolors, and we’ll send you a cool prize.
Price: $125+
Source: Nike
