When André 3000 was growing up in Atlanta, he would sit bored in class and doodle eclectic versions of the Tretorn Nylites silhouette that he and his friends would often wear. He would dream up versions with bold rugby style stripes and crazy colors that transformed the classy white canvas sneaker into styles that more fit his personality. Now, that dream has become a reality as he has teamed up with Tretorn and Jeff Staple to create a full collection that remixes the classic Nylites and introduces some new-look silhouettes.
The Outkast rapper’s collection includes a few updated Nylites models, a newly created basketball shoe and an assortment of fashion-forward slides for men and women. Staple has experience with both the Tretorn brand and creating his own shoe so he was the perfect candidate to turn the 15 sketchbooks that André brought in into workable designs. The designer of the highly touted Nike SB Dunk “Pigeon” says that the rapper was as hands-on with the project as possible.
“One of the things André really wanted to do was reconstruct it from the ground up,” Staple said. “So a new outsole, new midsole, new last, new reinforcement points. That was all his call.”
This collection comes on Nylite’s 50th anniversary, but that does not mean that Three Stacks and Staple stuck to the original look of the classic designs. The collection resulted in sneakers that are preppy, street-wear oriented, and in some cases totally wild, which lead to a silhouette ready for anyone from every walk of life. This brand new capsule is currently available on Tretorn’s website with sizes and styles flying off the shelves. If you miss out on this first drop, the collection will have a wider release at retailers like KITH next month.
Source: GQ