Style is subjective, but certain pop culture figures undeniably possess a concept of effortless cool. Tariq Amar Devega – better known by his stage name A$AP Nast — is certainly someone who falls within that realm.” It’s one thing to deck yourself out in all of the hottest designer garments, VVS-repleted jewelry and biggest sneaker collaborations, but it’s another thing to piece them together in a way that’s equally tasteful and consistent.

“My taste in style just sort of just always came to me”, he tells HYPEBEAST. “I never really paid attention to what it was that other people were getting into, and I’ve always just liked what I liked, it’s as simple as that.” Growing up in Harlem, New York, the A$AP Mob member was always exposed to various fashion and footwear trends, and his affinity for quality products has been something that he’s carried with him to this day. On the apparel front, you’ll often see him adorned in luxury labels such as Prada, Comme des Garçons and Homme Plissé Issey Miyake, and his fits tend to be completed with a fresh pair of kicks whether it be sportswear sneakers or loafers. In recent years, various brands such as Converse and Reebok have acknowledged his influence and thus granted him the opportunity to design sneakers that merge heritage with his street-style sensibilities.

For this latest installment of Sole Mates, we had the chance to catch up with Nast to talk about what sneaker culture was like growing up in Harlem, his biggest style muses, his Zig Kinetica II Edge collaboration and more.

Who or what got you into sneakers?

Honestly my love for sneakers sort of just came to me as I grew up and I was always into different types of silhouettes. I can’t really pinpoint when it exactly started for me but I do remember that I definitely grew up loving Nike Air Force 1s — or “Uptowns” as we liked to call them in New York — as well as Air Maxes.

“Throughout my teen years, Harlem was known for having so many different types of fashion movements. There were always so many trends to keep up with whether that be a colorful 80s vibe with snapbacks, Diadora sneakers, Nike ACG joints, even Asolo boots.”

Describe what sneaker culture was like for you growing up in Harlem, NY.

Throughout my teen years, Harlem was known for having so many different types of fashion movements. There were always so many trends to keep up with whether that be a colorful 80s vibe with snapbacks, Diadora sneakers, Nike ACG joints, even Asolo boots. Outdoor, hiking-inspired apparel and footwear was always popular in New York, especially like Marmot jackets and nowadays we’re seeing brands like Supreme and Opening Ceremony pick that up again. Being that I am from Harlem, by default I had this gravitation towards fashion and style naturally.

Can you recall the first pair of kicks you ever copped?

I don’t exactly remember my first cop, but I do remember that some of the first pairs that I was rocking early on were Deion Sanders’ kicks like the Nike Air Max DT 96s and the Air Max Speed Turfs, Bo Jackson Nike trainers, Air Foamposites, Flightposites and other retro Nike hoop silhouettes. At the time, these were considered luxury kicks to us because they were expensive for us at the time.

Who would you say were your style muses growing up?

I would say my number one inspiration was always Pharrell Williams. I always felt like Pharrell was into the things that I was into such as riding bikes and hanging out with skaters, and that was always intriguing. Back then, his image was really it for us. I always appreciated how different he was, and I was an avid listener of his music and fan of his style. He was known as the guy who would always ride a bike with gold teeth, rocking a tank top, camo shorts, Jesus piece and trucker hat with a mustache. That swag was even different for bikers at the time and it was a new style that we had never seen before. People could try and emulate it but it never look as good as it did on him.

Obviously whenever Kanye came on the scene he was a huge inspiration. Andre 3000 was also a huge one for me and someone I really respected when it came to lifestyle and fashion.

From a product standpoint, we first saw you initially doing collaborations with Converse, and then you sort of swiftly made this unexpected transition over to Reebok. How did the opportunity for you to jump ship to Reebok come about and what’s your experience been like thus far?

The Reebok deal sort of just came up because my contract with Converse was expiring and I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. I knew I always wanted to do something with Reebok and my homie Kyle Ng from Brain Dead connected me with Leo Gamboa who at the time was leading their collaborations arm. From there Leo and I spoke while I was in New York a little while back and the conversation stemmed from that. Shout out to Reebok man, they’ve been taking care of me and I’m looking forward to a future with them.

“The color scheme was inspired by a couple of things. One was an archival Reebok trail model that wasn’t well-received when it was originally released, and the other was the Nike Air Max 90 “Bacon.”

Let’s switch gears here and touch on your Zig Kinetica II Edge collaboration. How did you guys land on that silhouette for a team-up and what about that silhouette resonates with you?

Originally I was supposed to work on a basketball shoe but I couldn’t really figure it out and decide on which ones I wanted to do. And after having more conversations with Leo, they had sent over more options to choose from, and the one that really stuck out to me was the Zig Kinetica II Edge. I loved that it was trail-based. I love that the model has an outdoors-y vibe so I ran with that. A lot of my past collaborations were centered around that type of energy so I just wanted to build on that.

The color palette is pretty vivid and bold. Is there any significance behind that?

The color scheme was inspired by a couple of things. One was an archival Reebok trail model that wasn’t well-received when it was originally released, and the other was the Nike Air Max 90 “Bacon.”

In the past, you’ve lent your touch to other Reebok silhouettes such as the Classic Leather Legacy and the Classic Leather. Did your approach to design shift in any way when you were cooking this Zig Kinetica up?

I definitely tend to put forth the same amount of creativity into every project. With this collaboration specifically, I feel like I had slightly more leeway in terms of working on the color palette as well as selecting the various types of fabrics. However, I still think we did an amazing job with the Classic Leather Legacy. The presentation of that collab was really just based off of an old photo that I saw on this old magazine I had lying around the apartment. I think the combination of purple, brown and beige tones came together really nicely.

“Sneakers have so much to do with my upbringing growing up in Harlem whether that be the actual sneakers themselves or the memories I have associated with them such as always hanging out at the basketball courts. ”

Are there any other Reebok silhouettes that you think you might want to collaborate on down the road?

I would definitely want to take another stab at the Reebok Classic again. The last ones were a friends and family only project with only 200 pairs so down the road I’d like to create one that could be more widely available to the public.

Why are sneakers and the stories they hold important to you?

I think the most important aspect of sneakers to me is that they remind me so much of my childhood. Sneakers have so much to do with my upbringing growing up in Harlem whether that be the actual sneakers themselves or the memories I have associated with them such as always hanging out at the basketball courts. When I look at big time shoe releases today such as the Comme des Garçons HOMME PLUS  x Nike Air Foamposite, it’s drops like that that takes me back to a time where people around me started to rock Foams and I love that element of the culture.