Alpha
When Animals Attack 2
L'Ange de Mort
Karma
Stella Trigger
"I used to go to Foot Locker to buy shoes," Peter Kim says. "But whenever I'd see a new pair, there'd be something I wanted to change." So the graphic designer, known to fashion mavens as Methamphibian, did a bit of sole-searching: He began crossfading classic Nike designs with fabric appliqués, custom paints, and even pieces of other shoes. His tweaked sneaks have become streetwear hits - collectors of urban cool pay as much as $1,250 on eBay to step into a pair of limited-edition Meths. Kim walked us through how he remixed his Alpha kicks and four other pairs of cross trainers.
1. Alpha
"I tore apart three pairs of shoes and stitched pieces together for these. The bases are from a pair of Dunks, and the backs are made out of the ridged carbon fiber from different Dunks. The straps come off of Air Trainer 1s."
2. When Animals Attack 2
"A Japanese store called Essense commissioned this pair, so there are three logos: theirs, mine, and, of course, Nike's. I stenciled Essense's logo on using vinyl die-cut stickers I made."
3. L'Ange de Mort
"I used nail polish remover to strip the original leather-proofing off a pair of Blazers. I painted the skulls freehand with a mix of artists' acrylic and nail polish remover, which I use so that the paint won't crack."
4. Karma
"The denim I added to these gives them a really clean look. The original tongues were too thick so I removed all the padding and replaced the Nike logo at the top with my own tag."
5. Stella Trigger
"When I make shoes for friends, I do them in unique color combos - ones that I'll never use again. I treated the leather on these until it was raw like suede and would absorb the paint really well. I did the design by hand, then coated it with a matte acrylic varnish to dull the surface."
