Design+Creative Direction
2003: This is not a grand artistic gesture & it’s not rocket science. It’s not complicated & it’s not intrusive (except for the branding maybe). It’s a simple, affordable product that works well. Its consistently sold over a million pair per year and has been available, unchanged since spring 2003. That’s pretty rare in the footwear world of seasonal hype and bust. Initial retail price: USD $18.
2012: The Nike Air Yeezy 2 was Nike's second collaboration with Rapper/Super Producer Kanye West. CNN reported that it was "the most anticipated shoe ever" and although the official retail price was $245, one of of the first pair was reportedly re-sold on ebay for $ 90,300. People camped outside stores 4 weeks before it's launch, just to get a pair.
The back story: My first meeting with Kanye was in a Hawaiian recording studio while he was completing his Dark Twisted Fantasy album. He is a very creative person & had many visions for his signature shoe. My job was to facilitate his vision while also representing Nike's vision of product innovation.
I quickly realized that this project would require more resources, so I got one of my best senior designers, Nathan Vanhook, to help out with the design. Nate contributed a ton of great ideas and was the best team mate I could have asked for. We worked all over the planet with Kanye and Virgil for the next two years. When the shoe was finally announced, Sneaker-heads and Kanye fans showed unmatched passion for the shoe. The media buzz was incredible. It was definitely a moment in sneaker design history.
http://www.hiphopstan.com/nike-most-anticipated-shoe-ever-air-yeezy-2-video/
Creative Direction: Andreas Harlow & Kanye West, Lead Designer: Nathan VanHook, Project managers: Darla Vaughn + Virgil Abloh. Graphic Design: Adam Garcia, Product Developer: Adam Welliever, Photo Credit: Complex Magazine, Andreas Harlow
While Product Creation Leader of NIKEiD I initiated this project to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Nike AIr Force one sneaker. It's a super premium version of the shoe and is totally custom made.
Customers were given a 1.5 hour Bespoke appointment to determine the design & fit of the shoe, much like a custom tailored suit. They were $820 a pair, available at Nike's Mercer St store in New York City.
The Story: Nike Co-founder Bill Bowerman was the ultimate customizer. He hand crafted shoes for his athletes. He stripped away material to reduce weight & added cushioning to improve comfort. In that tradition, I designed a hand-crafted, minimalist version of the AirForce 1. My team and I made it lean by removing layers of material. We improved comfort by adding foam midsole cushioning. We re-introduced traditional shoemaking techniques & re-imagined almost every detail from the laces to the sockliner.
Credit: creative direction, product design, graphic design & color: Andreas Harlow. Customization consultant: Israel Matteo. Developer: Wil Catlin, photo: sneaker Freaker magazine, Andreas Harlow
Late in 2004, a colleague asked me to design a Dunk mule. I was so horrified by that thought that asked him what his goal was. "Make the dunk better for the summer time" was his answer. The Nike Presto is a great summer shoe, so I applied the same materials & construction to the Dunk. The result was lighter, more flexible, better ventilated & more comfortable Dunk. I called it the Dunkesto. It opened the doors for a flood of Nike Hybrids that followed. This particular pair was designed for the Brazilian football god Ronaldinho.
The idea behind this Hybrid shoe is to combine components from different shoes to make a better shoe - like sampling beats to create a new piece of music. The Dunkesto I designed in 2004 was the first successful version of this idea, so it made sense to take it further. I teamed up with talented designer Anthony Hope & we chop-shopped components from three shoes to make the Trainer Dunk. It is lighter, more flexible & more comfortable that the original organ-donor shoes. It was launched with a Stussy x Nike collaboration & became highly collectable in the sneaker-head community. A similar version of this shoe was relaunced in late 2012.
Credit: Product design: Andreas Harlow & Anthony Hope, Bottom design: Steve MacDonald, Color & material: Stussy design team & Tracie Weist
As the Footwear Creative Director for Nike Sportswear I was responsible for creating collections of lifestyle shoes that showcase innovation. These shoes were part of a year long project to elevate both traditional & modern craft. This pack represented modern craft & showcased then-new Nike Hyperfuse shoemaking process. Hyperfuse is a way of bonding materials together to create smooth, comfortable seam-less uppers.