When Arthur calls, you answer. The pop and R&B god ran into trouble just over a week after performing at the Super Bowl 58 halftime show in Las Vegas when the footwear portion of his Off-White sparkly jumpsuit surfaced problem.
explore
explore
Check out the latest videos, charts and news
Check out the latest videos, charts and news
“Shoe Surgeon” Dominique Chambrone appears. The expert in bespoke sneaker design has become one of the world’s most prolific shoemakers over the past decade. Prior to the chaos, Ciambrone connected through mutual friend Lil Jon and initially collaborated with Usher on his deconstructed sneaker skates.
About a week before he had to take the Allegiant Stadium stage on February 11, Usher discovered that Jordan Brand wasn’t able to offer the custom chrome Jordan 4s he was looking for, so the hitmaker turned to The Shoe Surgeon for help with his The magic arrives just in time for the big game.
“My reaction was, ‘Yeah, that’s easy,'” he said while working with advertising billboard On Zoom. “[Jordan Brand] They didn’t make a whole pair at the time, and it was Chinese New Year, so everything was closed and they couldn’t finish it. I think we had a week to get everything done – and that shoe was very difficult.
Ciambrone continued: “The chrome needed to sparkle, and we did 20 makeovers on that shoe. We finished up the Saturday night before the Super Bowl, and a friend of mine drove straight from L.A. to Vegas to meet me. .
The Shoe Surgeon and his team worked overtime at his 20,000-square-foot Los Angeles studio to find just the right chrome material to pair with the right Jordan 4 sole, while replacing the Jordan Jumpman’s iconic “U” with a dazzling heel, honoring the man of the hour in Sin.
On game day, Siambrone handcuffed himself to the suitcase of valuable cargo as he personally delivered the ball to Arthur himself hours before kick-off. When he saw the blood, sweat and tears that went into his chrome 4 jersey on the pitch at Allegiant Stadium, it all hit him right away.
“I cried,” he admitted. “This is a great moment for me and my team because we work so hard on these projects. I don’t think people understand how difficult it is.
It was also a full-circle moment for Ciambrone, whose prom ensemble was inspired by Lil Jon’s “Yeah!” video camo. Here’s the rest of our interview with The Shoe Surgeon, where he details the entire story of working with Usher on the Super Bowl, working with Drake, and other projects he’s currently working on.
Shoe Surgeon first caught my attention when Nike collaborated with John Geiger on the “Misplaced Checks” about ten years ago.
I keep hitting [Geiger] Standing up, he finally said, “I got three pairs of shoes that I want to make.” He was like, “Yo, I want a Gucci swoosh in a wheat Air Force 1 and in my Air Force 1 “I cut out a bunch of colors and put them on and he wore them to the agenda. Nice kicked him, “You should release those.” He called me, “Can we release those?” I was doing everything by myself in the garage, so I was like, “Oh my God, no!” and I was like Thought, “Let’s give it a try.” And we kept doing it and it changed customs and releases.
Take me back to saving Usher for the Super Bowl halftime show with the Air Jordan 4 you made for him.
I’ve become friends with Lil Jon over the years, and he’s been a client of mine for a while. I called him and he said, “I’m in Vegas because I’m doing a Super Bowl show.” This was a few weeks ago [game]. I was like, “Hit Usher and I can make his whole outfit.” He contacted me and Usher was like, “Yo, I’m in L.A., I want to come over.” I have two 20,000-square-foot ‘s studio. One has a full basketball court and a bar, and classes are being held. He was flabbergasted and said, “You can do more.” He was excited and we talked about his skates.
Off-White is already preparing his outfit. We were constantly going back and forth designing stuff, and he was so busy preparing for the show that it was hard to get information from him. I send designs blindly.
A week ago, he came to me, “What are we doing?” I was like, “Tell me.” He said, “Can you reshoot this?” and sent me a picture of a silver Jordan 4.
When we were making that shoe, we were also making skates. Finding materials is difficult. We’ve done this so many times and it comes out all wrinkled. I guess that’s why they didn’t want to make that shoe. Even with the Air Force 1, the material wrinkles easily. This material is very iconic. The team worked late into the night to get the job done, over and over again. The pressure was building because he asked, “Are you done?” and we were like, “We’re going to bring it.”
It arrived at 3:00 on the morning of the Super Bowl and we went straight to the Super Bowl as soon as we woke up and I had it on my wrist. We figured out a way to just walk in – but it was hard to do. We walked right back to Arthur and gave him the shoes, saving the moment. This is a blessing. Lil Jon and Usher inspired me when I made a camo prom gown based on Lil Jon’s camo gown from “Yeah!” during my senior year of high school. video.
What was it like when you finally finished?
marvelous. When you watch the halftime show, I get it. How much time and materials we spent, how many times we made the shoes, and we couldn’t make any money – it cost us a lot of money. But to see what he does after that, I probably would have walked away from the Super Bowl. I’m done.
Have you been in contact since then?
We’ve been working on some other things. We spoke with Reggie Saunders of Jordan Brand and they thanked us for getting this done. For us, it’s the ability to quickly create something that helps brands capture these moments. Many times they fail to get things done.
Isn’t it weird to connect the bottom of a roller skate to the sole of a sneaker and make it work?
It’s different because it’s a super high-top skate, which we haven’t done yet – but we’ve done a lot of soccer cleats, soccer cleats and all types of stuff. We also made the sneakers that George Kittle wore during the game [the Super Bowl]. We did a gold and tan Chunky Dunks, but a Jordan 1 version.
Was this the most gratifying experience for you?
This is one of the first moments – I’ve been working on my emotional IQ and allowing myself to feel these moments. In the early stages of my career, everything was numb to me. It feels really good to let yourself feel these emotions and cry. It’s been gratifying, but I wouldn’t say the most challenging.
Will you take losses to gain success?
To me, it’s worth it. It’s about creating something transcendent. Many people would say no. We want to get it done with the best possible quality. We bought multiple pairs of Jordan 4s to have their soles redone. There are a lot of details we have to get right. I don’t even know what the actual cost of doing this is.
What’s the hardest part of it?
The chrome material is definitely the hardest part. Then there’s the logo on the back. Due to time constraints, our production is slightly different than Jordan Brand’s production. You can’t even tell. There’s a lot of detail – but chrome is pretty unforgiving, especially when you make it by hand.
What projects are you working on? i see you and [tennis star] Frances Tiafoe.
This is a lifestyle shoe. I think there’s still a lot of work to be done in tennis. I think Frances Tiafoe has done a lot for the development of the sport. I believe all sports need to evolve. regardless [or not] This is Francis and I think there’s a big opportunity to make their shoes.
What are some great stories about rappers that come to mind? I’ve seen you work with Drake, Fat Joe, Nelly and more.
Me and Drake have a cool story. That was about four years ago, and I found out he really liked Stone Island. He is a member of Jordan Brand, so he has his own OVO Jordan 12. I went by what I saw. We made one – a blue one, because I loved the way blue paired with the stone island material. These shoes are terrible because we changed the jacket collar to an ankle collar. No one asked me to do this. It went viral. Then Drake came to me and he was like, “Yo, I need Black!” and I was like, “Of course, I got you.” I found some black denim and nylon from Stone Island and made the shoe.
They called me and said they were in town and invited me to see Dave Chappelle play at the Peppermint Club. I pulled up to the Mint Club and there was no one outside. I parked the box and walked to the front, where there was a man working out front. I just thought, “I’m here to drop off some shoes for Drake.” They were like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I was walking back to my car because I was valeting, and Drake Gram’s security guard came up from behind, as if to say, “I know who you are. Come with me.”
I walked through the back door with Drake’s security and hand handed the shoes to Drake. At Dave Chappelle’s show, everyone had their phones and I was there recording everything, and everyone was looking at me like they shouldn’t be. I thought, “Why is the security guard looking at me?” Oh, because my phone is out of battery. It was an interesting experience. Drake said, “Do you want a drink?” I was so nervous and I was like, “I don’t drink.” Because I didn’t drink at the time. He was on stage with Dave Chappelle and it was a fun night. It was a cool Drake experience.
Which NFL players are you working with on sneakers this season?
Working with Justin Jefferson, always working with Odell [Beckham Jr.]George Kittle. Recently, George accused the crew of wearing crappy shoes, and I said, “Let’s fix that.” I design all of Jake Paul’s costumes and boots, but I’m working on Mike Tyson’s. personally, [I’m] Making some music as my creative outlet. Get into different art forms to express yourself.
What do you think is the biggest difference between sneaker culture now and 10 years ago?
That’s a huge leap because things are a mess right now. Close to “Misplaced Checks” 10 years ago. Around that time, customs started to become cooler and shoes were still at their peak and getting hotter and hotter. Now I think it’s oversaturated. Either for resale or too much. It’s a bit boring and tiring. Most kids want Travis Scott low-top shoes. There will be a huge shift, and it’s already happening.
When you asked that question, I thought of the Cali Dunk Team. I remember going to a skate shop and buying these Cali Dunks. That was the pinnacle of it because a lot of people didn’t know what they were, but they were hard to get. I remember having these, but none of my friends did. Everybody had a Jordan and an Iverson, but no one had a skateboard dunk like me.
