Highsnobiety Q & A – So Me for etnies x Ed Banger “Ednies”

We’ve shown you the shoes. We shared our coversation with Busy P and Pierre-Andre about the project. Now, as a final piece of coverage we present a Q & A with designer So Me, as well as the above video of Busy P, Pierre-Andre and So Me in NYC.

Take a leap to read our Q & A with So Me.

Did you skate/do you skate? What are some of your fondest memories of
 skating growing up?

I used to skate a lot. I was ridiculously bad, and still am, and at any sport too.

But I always enjoy to ride.

Back where I come from, the skaters were the most exciting group of people.

The most open minded, and stylish.

They were the first ones to introduce me to very different things like… the Wu Tang (and not the rap kids) or Andy Warhol (and not the art class).

Not to mention the amazing art that came along (girl, Toy Machine, etc)

I started skating when the pants were enormous and the wheels very tiny.

What are your favorite skate shoes of all time?

I’ve always enjoyed those who skated in non-skate shoes like Nike, or I do remember skaters to be the first ones to pull off classic shoes like Puma clyde, before it was trendy again -we’re talking about late 90’s.

I used to skate in Adidas Campus, almost completely covered in Shoe Goo.

Regarding “real” sk8 shoes, I liked the ones that look simple, like non skate shoes. Like, for instance the “Simple”.

I had a pair of white “Sheep”, which was made by the creators of etnies, that were kind of like Stan Smith, that I really liked.

Also I really wanted a pair of simple black Kareem Campbell pro model, too.

Even though I remember being in love with a girl who had an enormous pair of DC shoes, in 98, I have since then lost touch with the contemporary skate shoes.

What was the inspiration behind the etnies collaboration? Did you think about any specific silhouettes?

As I said before, the simple and “classic” look is usually what I am aiming for, shoe wise.

My goal was that any member of EdRec could enjoy them, whereas there is a wide range of clothing styles within my label mates.

Given the simplicity of the upper, how important was it to create the inner dialogue with the insoles? It’s very playful, but almost hidden. Was it exciting to come up with a sort of secret?

Totally, the idea was to be more generous and fun on the parts that allowed it. I don’t want to wear shoes that are saturated with “fun” graphics, and I don’t know a lot of people who do.

Yet I still love playful graphics, and some areas allow to do this. The insole was the perfect spot for a hidden joke that anyone is free to enjoy, privately. So it’s kind of a private joke, literally.

Interview by Pete Williams