PORTER FOOTWEAR X BILEL CHOURTI
Bilel Choutri reached out on my Instagram page regarding a fun collaborative project based on a fantastic Nike ACG concept that he had designed. His proposal was this: if I made the upper, he would make the sole, shroud cover, and take care of all the promotional aspects of the project (photos, videos, etc.). Once I saw his design, I of course said yes.
Bilel provided me with the basic foundation to create the upper for his concept, but to be sure, I created a tech pack to get every detail correct. After a few emails back and forth, we had a plan in place to get this shoe made.
With material in hand, it was time to make the pattern. The biggest challenge here was what to deal with the neoprene bootie. I decided to make the bootie act as a "liner," and the upper would be stitched to the bootie in specific areas that would still allow for a heel counter and toe puff to be added like normal.
Here are some shots from the construction process. Some notes: Black Sharpie is a perfect quick fix when you need to finish the edge on black leather; The red marks show where I decided to do a double stitch and attach the bootie to the upper; Neoprene is a pain to work with (especially lasting), but the results are so great!
The last thing to do was 3D print a Nike logo, paint it, then stick it on the mudguard. Then it was off to France for the next steps!
