Essentials: Salehe Bembury

After hosting our A Conversation with Salehe Bembury earlier this year, our appreciation for the Tribeca-born footwear designer was taken to an entirely new level. Be it the multifaceted creative’s seasoned experience as a footwear designer or his flexibility and success as a fine artist, the current Innovation Designer for Cole Haan has built quite the substantial resume for himself. During a brief trip to New York, we were able to connect with Bembury and get a glimpse into his day-to-day essentials. A decidedly simple selection of go-to goods, Bembury’s Essentials accurately portray an individual who prefers to — not only let his work speak for itself — but who also makes a conscious effort to keep his tools of the trade close to him at all times. Playing a role in the creation of the Cole Haan Lunargrand underneath Innovation Director, Jeff Henderson, Bembury’s Essentials feature a pair of the fragment design “Pink & Putty” Lunargrands as well as a Pantone book and a copy of the Steve Jobs biography among other things.

When he’s not churning out and assisting the Cole Haan design team in its footwear development, Salehe Bembury also spends his time curating, organizing and contributing to group art shows such as the recent LOCAL art exhibition that kicked off with contributions from the likes of Micah Belamarich, Vashtie Kola, Kunle Martins and Baron Von Fancy. Swizz Beatz, Dame Dash, Indie184 and Cope2 were in attendance as well. You can keep up with Bembury on his blog at saleheblack.com.

Photography: HYPEBEAST