Description
Guillaume Philibert is a Dutch designer and the founder of streetwear brand Filling Pieces, which specializes in producing handmade premium sneakers. Having grown up in Amsterdam in a Surinamese family, Philibert studied architectural design at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam until 2011, during which time he became aware of the absence in the streetwear industry of premium sneakers that sold at reasonable prices. While interning at architectural firm Concrete Reinforced, Philibert concurrently designed the first Filling Pieces collection which released at the end of 2009 and consisted of the “Low Top” silhouette.
A fast success from its debut collection for bridging streetwear and high fashion, Philibert was able to shift production after three years from China to Portugal after three seasons, citing faster manufacture, better quality and a greater variety of materials. Named as the Best Breakthrough Brand of 2014 by Highsnobiety, Filling Pieces is now considered important to the growth of independent footwear brands and for putting Dutch streetwear on the map. As well as being the creative director for Filling Pieces, Philibert also consults and produces for other footwear brands.