She Designs Shoes

And So Can You

When I introduce Sara Jaramillo to people that And Them works with, I always wants to say, ‘My Sara’ because everyone should have their own ‘Sara’. I believe ‘My Sara’ evolved from our days on Yeezy when she worked for the Women’s Accessory Design Director Lucette Holland. For three years Lucette and I were attached at the virtual hip working around world through email, texts, WeChat, WhatsApp and occasionally face-to-face.

My first run with Sara was during NY Fashion Week for Season 1. Among a thousand other last minute requests, Ye wanted the laces on the 700 to be offwhite and wider. Of the 1000 requests, we assumed that to be the easiest.

Not even close.

We went from sneaker shop to accessory story to every materials supplier in the garment district to find just one pair of the 20 pairs we needed.

No luck.Eventually we landed on a lace that was wide and flat, so I took them home, so took them home and had my sons dye them in a bucket on our balcony.

The laces were still wet when I got to the prep area 20 minutes before the models were to receive what was picked out for the show. Sara and I replaced those laces like it was the last thing we’d ever do in life. We were fast, efficient and doubled-over in laughter at the ridiculousness of our job being no different than a first day working at Foot Locker. All of the other complicated tasks we’d done in the previous 6 months would be meaningless if we couldn’t get these new laces into those shoes.

And if you ever tried to replace the Yeezy 750, you’d know how fun our job was that day. I was so worn out that I crashed backstage during the show to watch on the tiny monitor with Kris and North.

Whenever Sara and I are working on something seemingly unnecessary and undoubtedly important, I send her pictures of the entanglement of laces we fought through before Season 1.

So when Sara texted me to say that she needed a break from Yeezy, I immediately texted Lucette to see if it was okay to bring Sara onto some of my other projects.

“My Sara?” Lucette responded.

“Not any more,” I answered.

From bags to socks to color and material to inspiration and consumer, Sara has been on fire. I introduced her to a young entrepreneur focused on building the most comfortable high heel. I’ve brought Sara in on almost every project we have and she’s added her understanding of fashion and style in ways that no one else could. Three years with Lucette at Yeezy was an amazing apprenticeship that she took seriously.

Now, Sara’s next step will be sharpening her skills on creating meaningful technical drawings for sneakers. Fashion and sneaker world’s mostly differ by production bases — Italy and Europe vs China and Asia. The drawings and engineering need a decidedly different hand in a way akin to speaking a different language. That language starts at the first sketch. Sara will get a deep dive into learning how to deliver in the sneaker world that she left in Pensole so many years ago.

This transition of skills isn’t easy. That’s why so few designers tackle true fashion and true athletic. It’s like PC vs Mac or Brooklyn vs Boise. Understanding and developing the subtle nuance that goes into crafting a last for a high heel is lost in a world where engineering a mold drawing for injection EVA requires knowledge measured in millimeters to be successful. And vice versa.

That said, I’m certain Sara will learn this new language faster than I will Spanish. She asked me for a few videos to get her started, so I’m sending her this video from ‘Glad You Asked’ — a collection of videos that photographer Jon Lopez created because we thought people would be interested in our meaningless banter about how we and other creatives do our jobs.

Learning to design sneakers with our clients and factory partners won’t be easy for Sara, but I hope it’s easier than lacing the Yeezy 750.

Good things.

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