Cut-and-Sew: A Look Into the Works of Nash & Lazy
Interview with Nash
Nash, how did you begin doing custom sneakers?
It all started back in 2004. My love for sneakers was rekindled when I started working in a sneaker store. My friend Alister was doing a custom range using stencils to make a bamboo camo effect on Air Force Ones. I wanted to get into it but with my own signature style, I was never really good at illustrations, although I can appreciate drawings, illustrations, and characters on shoes.
I started thinking about how I could do a custom that would look manufactured and unique yet subtle. At the time, I had a great love for moccasins so I began to think about how I could incorporate a moccasin style into sneakers, that’s when I started cutting up sneakers and practicing my stitch.
Did your first custom implement the moccasin style?
My very first custom didn’t have any moccasin stitching. I got a “real tree camo” waterproof jacket and cut out the panels to match the Air Force One panels, then glued them in. It looked OK, until I wore them out and then they fell apart, ha!
How did you eventually perfect the art of stitching?, so they wouldn’t fall apart.
It wasn’t a case of them falling apart as much as going back and forth with the stitching to make them stronger than the manufactured stitch on a shoe. It was just a case of perfecting the moc stitch so it looked neat and clean. My first attempt looked really bad which made me disheartened as I had done this before, so I didn’t know if it was even possible. I put them down and left them for about 8 months. After sometime went by, I tried it again with a different
approach and they came out perfect. My first perfected moc stitch was on a pair of Air Force 1’s, which where black with a jade green suede tongue and swoosh with black mesh overlay. I called these the “Lucky Charms” as the Nike embroidered detail was red while the rest was jade green, symbolizing the Chinese charm of a jade trinket.
Would you say the Air Force 1 your favorite platform to work with?
I wouldn’t say its my favorite. Its a classic because it features simple construction, therefore it seemed like the best place to start with experimentation. Since then I’ve gained a better understanding of construction which has given me the confidence to work with various different styles and models including Jordans, Air Max’s, Mowabbs and Visvim FBT’s.
We’ve definitely seen diversity in your custom choices, especially Nikes. How did your relationship with them come about?
Haha, I guess when I was 14, although it was only a consumer relationship. Regarding a relationship since my involvement in customizing, it just sparked on my behalf due to my life time love for them and my style/themes which work so well with their palette of sneakers.
I was commissioned to be a part of the Nike Festival of Air in 2006, they sponsored my exhibition with Trust Nobody in January 2008 as well. Even though it was amazing to be apart of those events, my real aspirations are to work with Nike on official projects, as the thing that’s frustrating with customizing is that you are so restricted with what you can do. I do the best with the skills and facilities I have on hand but working with Nike would open the boundaries of what I could achieve.
