How to Become a Shoe Designer? | Mr. Bailey – ConceptKicks.com

Hello Sneaker Sketchers!

Today, we’re diving into Mr. Bailey’s journey
and discovering how his experience full of perseverance
and passion can guide you on ‘How to Become a Shoe Designer’.

This interview holds a special place in my heart.
As a Product Design student, I was captivated by the incredible sneaker sketches Mr. Bailey shared on his blog and Instagram. His platform became a wellspring of motivation and inspiration, not just for me, but for countless aspiring designers.

Mr. Bailey’s work played an influential role in my decision to become a Footwear Designer⁠ for Adidas and more.
I’ll never forget the day he featured some of my own shoe sketches on his blog – a moment that further fueled my passion (Sneaker obsession!)

Mr. Bailey is the founder of ConceptkicksLab, a Footwear design and Development agency – and also Concept Kicks, a blog of reference about sneaker design. He accepted to share with us his path and obstacles he met to become a footwear designer.

I’m deeply grateful for the impact Mr. Bailey’s blog has had on my journey, and I’m excited to share his insights with you today. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your skills, this interview is packed with valuable advice for aspiring shoe designers.

Be ready to learn a lot about the footwear industry from Mr. Bailey in 8 questions!

#1 How are you doing?
What are you working on these days?

Photoshoot with the Kudzu | Mr. Bailey X ekn Footwear collaboration

What’sup Chou-Tac, I’m good thanks mate.
Yeah, things are pretty nuts at the minute.

Right now I’ve got my hands full with a few footwear design/development projects for clients, as well as working on my own collaborations and projects.

I’m also prepping for a footwear course I’m hosting with SLEM in Hong Kong on the 13th of this month.

#2 Who you are in a few words?

I’m a product designer that is currently using footwear as a vessel to execute both myself and my collaborators, creative visions. I’d like to think I’m a storyteller, a connector, and hopefully someone that can spread inspiration to as many people as possible.

#3 When did you know you wanted to become a shoe designer? What motivated you? Who inspired you?

I think I’ve always just wanted to be involved in the creation of things, no matter what they were. My mum is a super artsy, and one of my aunts studied architecture.

She used to give me these creative problem-solving tasks when I was about 6 or 7. That had a pretty big effect on me and I’ve just been drawing and imaging products and concepts ever since.

I don’t know a single Basketball player that doesn’t love shoes.
It’s just a massive part of the culture.

So that’s what really got me into starting to sketch and imagine what my own shoes might look like.

Once I started my degree, I remember trawling sites like Coroflot, seeing what people like Nicolas Bodin were doing, Michael DiTullo, Eric Arlen, all these people were massively inspiring, and I wanted to be at their level.

#4 Was it difficult to become a footwear designer? 

It was extremely difficult, and it’s something I’m still working on to this day.
After I graduated from University I took an entire year for myself so I could just stay at my place and work on my sketching and rendering skills.

That mindset is something I try to maintain to this day.

There are so many talented creatives out there, so to try to stay at a competitive level I think you just have to continually learn and to embrace, share and celebrate others’ work, talk about it and see how it can inspire your own.

#5 What was your top 1 obstacle?

I think the biggest obstacle for me was that I was getting involved in so many areas at once. I was very lucky to have met my business partner and great friend, Omar Bailey.

He kind of took me under his wing and showed me the ways of the industry. The design side is just one, very important, but a small part of the entire process.

I’m not necessarily the personality type to really care about all that stuff normally, but it’s such an integral part of the business that you’d be silly not to.

And honestly, now that I know about it, I try to bend and play with the current structures. Altering and adapting current procedures to try and refresh certain parts of an industry that’s really quite traditional and set in its ways, particularly in Europe.

#6 Does an aspiring shoe designer can succeed with no Design degree?

Absolutely. I would probably even say it helps to have a slightly different background. I think schools like Pensole and SLEM are brilliant and are a perfect add on to a designer trying to get into the footwear industry.

If you look at some of the most creative and game-changing shoes of the past, a lot of them were created by people that didn’t even study product/shoe design.

Don’t get me wrong,  I’m not advising people to not go to college and get one, however, but what I think is most valuable about attending uni is more about the people you meet, your classmates, teachers, and the time you’re given to work on yourself.

The degree at the end of the day means nothing if you still can’t sketch, or don’t have the passion for creation that you need to succeed in this industry.

And to that point, if someone doesn’t have a design degree, but their portfolio is amazing, or their passion for this industry is obvious, then they’ll find their place in it.

I follow you on Facebook, seeing that you are currently developing a collaboration with Ekn footwear.

I see how you go through the whole chain from the first sketch, sampling, production to the photoshoot, pricing and I believe many more! I believe it might be a thrilling experience!

#7 Your job scope is so much wider than any designer who works for any big brand. Can you tell us more about your journey?

Sure. Well, my collaboration with ekn footwear has been a massive learning experience for me. It’s something I’m continuing to learn with the release of every shoe, to be honest.

The way I see my collab with them is almost like one big school project. A class I’m taking that’s kind of viewable by the public. As you can imagine it can be a little daunting at times, but it’s also a lot of fun.

Noel, the owner of ekn really has a lot of faith in my vision, and I’m hugely grateful to him for allowing me to help take his brand in a new direction.

I really love seeing how the whole puzzle fits together.

However, that being said, being involved in so aspects can be very tricky to handle, especially when you already have a few other projects you’re working on. I’m lucky that now we have people in place that can help take the load off.

Noel and his team handle warehousing and distribution, customer relations, and basically the core of the business on that end, for our collaboration line. That being said, I’m starting to take care of more aspects involved in our collab.

The more I see and learn, the more I feel comfortable adding my thoughts and how I would like it to be executed. In the beginning, I was really only involved in the design and development of our collaboration shoes, but now I’m starting to take more of an active role in more of the overall execution of the imagery and PR.

We’ve also just started a new project together where I have complete control of the branding and aesthetics of the brand from the ground up. It’s still very early stage but I’m super excited to get that out and see how it’s received.

#8 You organize a Workshop “From Concept to Reality:
Starting your own footwear brand” in Hong-Kong.
Can you tell us more about it?

Sure, SLEM reached out to me a couple of months ago to discuss organizing a course in Hong Kong for their master students. We’ve worked together before and I think we both appreciated what we can both bring to the table and offer to students.

Basically, they felt that once their students had left their course, they felt incredibly inspired and wanted to actually create their vision, but didn’t necessarily know which direction to turn to.

As I said before, the design and the developing world are very, very different. Literally just having someone stand in front of you and break the industry down can be massively helpful. So that’s basically what we’ll be doing.

I’ll be taking a group of students through what I do when consulting for a new, or creating my own, brand. From how to create interesting, emotional designs, through to creating samples, and finding the right factories to produce your shoes, even if you’re working on a budget.

Everyone always thinks you need a shit load of money to make a shoe brand and don’t get me wrong, it’s not cheap, but if you understand how the industry works, you can do it for a lot less than you’d think.