Clarity, trust, and a creative environment are the best things I can give my teams, and will make better work than any buzzwords ever will.
Take-downs sound easy. They're not. Adapting the Women's Double Stack Lift for kids meant flagging a real safety issue, platform height, then leading the studies and midsole tweaks to get it right for little feet doing big kid things.
Sometimes adult trends just don't land with a twelve-year-old, like with the low-profile Chuck Taylor Lo. We kept the sleekness but snuck in an EVA midsole for comfort and familiarity.
One shoe doesn't fit all ages. The Malden Slip needed three builds, including a toddler velcro version that opens nearly flat.
Adults had an expensive granny floral. Ours had to work for kids, on way less money and way more safety rules. I kept the tween pair luxe, then let the rest go wild: 3D printing, big scale, bold colour, dimensional detail.
Little kids are so fun to design for, especially with graphics. Here I pushed for a 'human-made' style. It felt right for the brand, and the moment.