The world of trainers is a confusing, muddled space – it’s a constantly churning trend wheel catering to fanatic sneakerheads and fanboy zines. When not making millions selling classics, like adidas Stan Smiths and Old Skool Vans, brands have seemingly daily drops of limited edition kicks. So, like a breath of fresh air blowing through this over-saturated scene comes a new trend for collaged creps.
Since graduating from Royal College of Art in July 2016, Helen Kirkum has been refashioning trainers. She dismantles old odd models found at recycling centres and reconstructs them into new shoes.
Like Dadaism, her work is reliant on objet trouvé as she unpicks the components of old sneakers to create her refreshingly new designs. Kirkum reconstitutes these found pieces by collaging them together using traditional lasting and construction techniques. For this, she has won accolades – namely Vogue’s International Talent Support prize and Mulberry’s Graduate Fashion Week award – and collaborated with brands like Casely-Hayford.
Kirkum’s work is making waves in the industry as Vetements and Reebok have been hinting about their upcoming collaboration that is flatteringly similar to this young RCA grad’s footwear. For the French couturier’s second collection with the sportswear label, they have teased an image of a pair of well-worn white sneakers, with traditional components collaged into a new sneaker silhouette.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.