Director of Footwear Design
D\'Wayne Edwards, Brand Jordan, Nike
D’Wayne Edwards is the Design Director of Footwear for the Jordan Brand, probably one of the coolest jobs on the planet. He has designed the latest pair of Jordan’s, the XXI’s, Roy Jones boxing shoes, and the Melo shoes. He has been with Nike for over six years, and it is pretty clear that he loves his job.
In high school, I mean, let’s back up. I think when I was 11 or 12 years old, I started drawing shoes in the 7th grade. On little 3 x 5 index cards. My teacher, her name is Mrs. Weathers. She used to keep them. I actually used to get in trouble because I was drawing instead of paying attention.
I remember when I left middle school and entered high school, I went back. She still had some of them in her drawer. I actually wanted them from her, but she wouldn’t give them to me. But I thought that was cool she actually kept them.
From 11 or 12, that’s as far as I can remember drawing sneakers. But I’ve been drawing ever since I can remember. I just had a gift to be able to draw anything I could see. For me, as the years got longer, I just started to chanel it more and focus on drawing specific things.
Design was a little different because unlike drawing, where you have an object that you repeat, design is drawing something that doesn’t exist yet. So I had to start condition my brain to draw things that didn’t exist.
Initially I started off just drawing Nike sneakers. Just figuring out what I would want if I did them. What would I want them to look like.
So I did that from middle school all the way through high school. When I got to high school, I was excited because they actually had an art program. So I thought maybe that could be a great opportunity for me to enhance my art skills. But unfortunately at Inglewood, the art program was like drawing fruit and faces. After about three weeks, they actually kicked me out of the class because my skills were too advanced for what they were able to teach me. My skills were better than the teacher who was teaching the class.
Actually, it was blessing because I ended up going into drafting. Drafting is the opposite of art. You don’t need any artistic ability at all, whatsoever to be in drafting. For me, it conditioned me to think a little differently. It actually became a handicap for me, because I could draw a straight line without a ruler. But in drafting, you have to always use a ruler.
My teacher would always get on me because I would cheat. I would draw a straight line with a ruler, and then I’d have a fourth of an inch left so I’d freehand it. And you can tell when the lead stops and starts. So he would always get on me on that.
But drafting taught me an awful lot. It actually shaped my design career. You would have a project where you had a screw. You had the front of the screw and the dimensions of the rest of it. But you had to figure out what it looks like. So it starts to train your mind, your mental to think about things that don’t necessarily exist through numbers.
All throughout high school I did that. By the time my senior year came, I wanted to be a designer. I wanted to be an architect. They can go hand in hand. I realized they really didn’t go hand in hand (laughs). There are some parallels, but they’re kind of different.
So I started talking to my guidance counselor. It was time to get serious about college. I was telling her what I wanted to do. This is in ’87, ’88. She’s like, ‘Well, there’s really no schools out there for footwear design. You have a better chance at just going to the Army. Military is a much better choice for a young black who grew up in Inglewood than trying to be an artist because it just won’t happen.
That didn’t sit well with me. I just thought it was horrible advice to give a young kid. So I started just looking in the newspaper for jobs in design. I found this really small, one fourth of an inch by one inch ad that Reebok had for a freelance footwear design contest. So I entered it, and I won it. I won the contest at 17 years old.
Reebok didn’t hire me because I was only 17 years old. They thought I went to school for this. They told me to come back once I graduated from school and then maybe we’ll give you a job. I was like, ‘okay.’ I had a little personal vendetta against Reebok for a little while.
So when I won, I was like, ‘I can do this.’ Once I did that, I started to really get more serious about drawing, and specifically, designing footwear. At the time, I was also working at McDonald’s. My manager at McDonald’s was like, ‘Hey, you’re a bright kid. If you work your way up, you can become assistant manager. Then you can be a manager and eventually have your own store.’ I’m like, ‘I don’t want to have a career at McDonald’s (laughs).’ McDonald’s is not what I’m looking to do.
So I just kept having all these different roadblocks along the way. At a certain point, I started to get seriously discouraged. Because I didn’t have a mentor that I could talk to. My brothers were very good artists. One of them actually taught me how to draw. His name was Michael. He passed away when I was a sophomore in high school. He actually helped me hone my design skills. Another brother, Ronnie, he passed away as well shortly after that. So for me, my two brothers had this gift. And they were no longer there. So I wanted to make sure I could continue that gift on.
Ironically, my youngest daughter is 7. She can draw. She’s drawing shoes already. I got a couple of them in my office.
Through there it was just discouraging. I couldn’t talk to anyone that was actually in the field. There were schools in California that were apparel schools. There were no schools that could teach footwear. So for me, I just focused more on architecture. I thought, ‘Maybe I can just be an architect and call it a day.’
When I graduated from high school, I just went to school right after that. I went to night school at Santa Monica College, now Camino College, to study business marketing, managing, and advertising.
I figured that I couldn’t get into design school because it was too expensive. My mom, she raised six kids by herself. So there was no money to go around for art school. In order for me to go to school I had to basically work and fund my schooling on my own at night.
So I went to school at night and figured that one day I’d have my own business of some kind. So I decided to focus more on business than art or design. During the day, like I said I worked. And I worked part time at this accounting agency called Account-Temps. I think they’re still around today.
I worked at Account-Temps. Me and my best friend Jason Thompson signed up at the same time. The next day, the lady sent us out to different jobs. His job assignment was LA Gear. But he couldn’t find it. So she got upset with him and sent me. So the next day I went and I found it. So I started working at LA Gear in the fall of ’88, right after I graduated from high school. I was there as a file clerk.
When I got there, they were changing over management and leadership. The new management wanted to find out more about the company. They solicited the employees on ways to make the company better and things to improve it.
So every category had a suggestion box. So for me, my suggestion was to hire me as a footwear designer. Every day, for six months, I put sketches in this box.
The owner of the company, Robert Greenberg called me into his office. He thought I went to school. He thought I graduated from college in design. I was like, ‘I’m just a file clerk. As a matter of fact, I’m a temp. I don’t even work here full time.’ He was like, ‘Hey. You want a job?’ I was like, ‘Yeaaah.’
So in January of 1989, I got my first official footwear design job. I was an entry level footwear designer for LA Gear. I thought I was rolling. I was making $18,000 a year. I thought I was set. I was in heaven. I was 19 years old making $18,000. I thought I was good.
More importantly, I just wanted to do that. I didn’t know people actually got paid to do that. So once I started doing that, once I got a chance, I just learned from everybody that was in the room. There were a few of the key designers that were there before me. I just picked their brains every day. Just asking what I could do to get better. Asking what tricks to use as far as sketching.
At the time, computers weren’t that big. It was all hand designs. We would fax stuff over to Asia. It’s unheard of today. But yeah, I would fax everything.
The beauty of what I like to do today is I use the same number two pencil that I used in middle school. I use the same thing today. I know the computer side of it, but freehand skills are just a treasured gift that I think most kids today don’t learn quite as much.
But it’s all freehand and I take it to a computer. But I always remember that. They come into my office and they see my pencils on my desk. They always ask, ‘What are you doing with that?’ (laughs)
That’s how I get down. Old school. Piece of copy room paper. Nothing special. Just a regular old piece of copy room paper and a pencil.
Noah: You got a sharpener and everything?
Oh yeah. I got plenty of sharpeners. I collect pencils now.
I was at LA Gear from ’89 until ’92. I worked on some of their more important products like their Streethiker series in the early nineties. Which did really well. I didn’t do any of the Michael Jackson stuff they had back then (laughs).
From there I took a year off and went to Detroit to work for this small footwear company out in Detroit. There’s an urban designer by the name of Karl Kinei. He was the pioneer of all the urban fashion you see today. Puffy was in his ads back in ’89, ’90. 2pac was in his ads early on. A lot of the new guys got everything from him. We became friends in the early nineties. He wanted to have a footwear component.
Ironically, Robert Greenberg who started LA Gear, he left and started Skechers. So he knew that I knew Karl, and he wanted to do a deal with Karl to do footwear for him. So once they got the deal done, Karl and Robert called me and wanted to me to run the footwear division for them. So I did that from ’89 until ’97.
Zach: How old were you when you started doing that?
Um…23. I was 23. So I did that for four years. I worked at Skechers because they had the licensing rights to Karl Kinei footwear. They also had the licensing rights to Cross Colors footwear. I did that for four years.
Then when that deal ran out, I spoke to Robert about having my own brand. By that time, that was year nine for me doing footwear design. So I kind of established myself as a designer by then in that era. So I got my own brand. It was called Sity with an S.
Ironically, the year it was launched, Sporting Goods Business, in ’99, they had evaluated all the new brands for the year of brands to watch out for. My brand was second, behind Jordan, as the brand to watch out for in 2000. I thought that was kind of interesting considering where I am now (laughs).
I was doing that for about a year and a half. He decided to go in a different direction. So I decided to leave the company. I took a year off to clear my head and start up my own consulting business for a bunch of different footwear clients.
A friend of mine, Paul Wilkinson, he worked up at Adidas at the time here. He called me and said a friend of his, Drew Greer, works at Nike. He said, ‘Man, they’ve been looking for you. They want you to come in and focus on their boot business.’ So at that time, that was pretty much my entire career was just boots and casuals. I was doing that stuff back in ’93.
So Nike called me. It was funny because I always wanted to work here, but I couldn’t see myself necessarily living in Oregon growing up in Inglewood. I didn’t know much about Oregon besides that it was green (laughs).
When I came up for the interview, ironically, it didn’t rain on the day I came up. But it rained the day after and the day before. They were like, ‘We need to get you up here because you’re bringing California weather.’
I remember interviewing with Nike and them saying, ‘We like what you have. We’ll call you back in two weeks.’
Two weeks to the day, they called me back. I was like, ‘Did you guys just wait two weeks exactly to call me? Or did you know ahead of time?’
It was funny. I got offered two jobs on that day. Nike sportscoats division offered me a job, but they had to move somebody around before they could fill me in. And ACG offered me a job like an hour later. So I took that one because it was guaranteed. Mother didn’t raise a fool. I took the guaranteed job.
I started at Nike in early 2000 in ACG. I was in ACG for about a year and then started doing projects. ACG was on the third floor, right below where we are now. Even when I got here man, it was like, even though Jordan was on the fourth floor, I didn’t even think I had a chance at working at Jordan. It was such a pinnacle that it wasn’t even realistic to me. Even in high school, Nike was the pinnacle, but Jordan was on a whole other level.
I remember towards my last year in high school, I started designing Jordans. I remember the last shoe I designed was the Air Jordan II. I redesigned that in ’88. That was the last one I remember because my teacher kept it. Ironically, one of the first projects I got in Jordan was to redesign the Air Jordan II. Twelve years later, I did the same shoe that I did in high school. I thought that was kind of cool.
To this day, that’s probably my favorite one because it has the most value to me. But still, when I got that call to come up to Jordan, it was just…I can’t even explain it. It was just not…still today it’s not realistic. It’s still not realistic. But it took me twelve years to get here though (laughs).
For me, every day is a new journey. Meeting Mike for the first time. Incredible.
Z: Does he come here a lot?
Michael’s here probably two or three times a year. Mostly, when I was working on the Air Jordan product, I worked on the Air Jordan XXI and XXII, so a team of us would go down and see him. We’ll probably see him four to five times throughout that process. So it was pretty cool to work with him.
Actually, I worked with him on the 18.5 first. Nervous the first time. I was little nervous. Because it’s Michael (laughs). I don’t know how else to explain it. He was cool though. He broke the ice and made it comfortable. He noticed I was nervous. He made it comfortable. He started cracking jokes.
Z: Is he involved in the design of the shoe?
Yeah. Definitely. He’s not just a figure head at all. He’s completely involved in the entire process. He has a hell of a memory though. His memory is phenomenal. He’ll remember all the past Jordans, so if we do something similar, he’ll say, ‘Aww, that’s just like the XIII. That’s just like the V or whatever.’
But everything starts and ends with Michael. He sees every shoe that we do too. He is, what people probably don’t know about the guy is that he collects sneakers too. He is a sneaker head. He’s fighting his sons off because they’re getting bigger and wearing the same size he is. But yeah he collects.
From day one in the process, he knows everything we got going. If he doesn’t like something, he’ll tell you in a minute (laughs). In a minute.
It’s kind of strange to meet him after idolizing him for so long. And idolizing his shoes for so long. And even having the opportunity to work with Tinker Hatfield as well, who did all the other ones in the past. I mean, that was even a dream come true as well.
Z: Is that hard to tell someone if they don’t like it, but you feel real strongly about it? Telling someone like Michael Jordan that he’s wrong and you’re right?
(Laughs).
Z: I mean, he’s Michael Jordan but you’re a shoe designer.
Right. But I don’t look at it that way though. There’s a mutual respect there where he definitely voices his opinion. He is the logo. Ultimately what he says goes, but he also respects the fact that I am being paid to do a certain job and I have a certain skill set. So I’m supposed to provide him with insights that he may not be aware of. So a lot of cases, we’re bringing new concepts and new ideas and new influences to the table that he embraces. But I don’t look at it as, ‘Hey, it’s my idea. I know more than you.’ I truly look at it as I design shoes from a fan point of view. From a consumer point of view. I just want it to be right. So if it’s my idea, or anyone else’s idea from the team, which we usually do collaborative efforts anyway, so it’s not just one single person. It’s a concept. The entire team chimes in to collectively make it the best thing it can be. I don’t get caught up in that about my idea wins kind of thing.
Because then the consumers suffer. If it’s allowed to get to that point. But the way we do product in general at Jordan, we meet and do everything as a team. Which embodies Michael’s philosophy as well. It’s not a one man show. We do everything as a team.
B: So if you had to attribute one thing that got you hear today, mentors, persistence, anything, what would you say has gotten you here to this unrealistic position you’re in?
I would say my mom. She passed away three years ago. As a kid, I was really in search of mentors. For her, being there and understanding she was a single mother and raising six kids by herself was phenomeonal. Just to be able to understand that. No that she’s no longer here, to understand that the things she tells you as a kid, you kind of ignore stuff that your parents tell you.
But once, you start to think back, it’s kind of like, you have to embrace the things a little later.
So I remember, actually I still have it. Years ago, she gave me this card. I always keep it with me. That’s what it is. (hands Brett the card)
That simple word of ‘believe.’ Believe in whatever you want to do. It’s possible if you believe in it.
She gave me that card I think in ’96. From that point, to this day, I still keep in my wallet. Those words are still relevant. Even today, they’re still relevant.
That’s the biggest thing. I had so many people who told me that I couldn’t do it or it wasn’t the right direction to go in. Or they weren’t supporting the idea. I didn’t waver in the belief that I could do it.
I think some of these kids today don’t have enough people giving them confidence. There’s not enough confidence being driven into these kids. It’s more negative influences. Where they see more negative things. But for me it was like she always believed I could do it.
My brothers and sisters believed as well, but I would say definitely my mom was the biggest influence.
B: Were there times when you looked at that card…
Oh yeah. Every other day I look at it. For real. Because it’s so relevant. It’s so relevant. This is year eighteen for me doing this. For me, I start to feel like an old ballplayer sometimes where it gets harder for me to get amped up and get things going. It’s like when you’re playing ball, you become more mentally prepared and better. Your advantage is not physical as it is for the young guys, it’s more mental.
For me, I’m leaning more on the mental of what I’ve been able to learn over all this time. Whether I apply it on a daily or whether I influence the younger designers that are here, it’s just encouraging them to get things done. And showing them how to do it. Just sharing those kinds of influences, because I didn’t have that. I had it from a life point of view from my mother, brothers, and sister, but from a career point of view, the closest thing career mentor I had was Robert Greenberg, who owns Skechers now. He was the closest career mentor I had, but as far as anyone else, my mom influenced me.
My two brothers who passed away as well. Because they didn’t do too much with their gift. It’s just to make sure that I can carry that gift that they helped me nurture and develop. If I can carry that on, and like I said, my little girl who is 7 years old, she’s drawing now. I’m trying to not be like that coach parent. Where you’re like go do that. I’m trying to step back and let her develop her own style. Develop her own sense of what she wants to create. But it’s amazing to see how you have something that’s been passed on and on and now they can pick that stuff up. It’s amazing to see that.
B: Are there any female footwear designers?
There aren’t that many. It’s a male dominated industry. Nike has quite a few. Not anywhere near as males.
From an African American point of view, there’s only four that I know of. One of them I work with, Kim Glover. It’s actually an industry that’s very limited in African American females. As far as African American males, there’s probably less than 50 in the entire industry of well over a 1,000 footwear designers.
Noah: Is there a reason?
It’s exposure. Seriously. When I was growing up, I didn’t know that they existed. I didn’t know this career was an opportunity for me to pursue. The same messages that I got as a kid were the same messages that are being conveyed today. For a kid growing up in the city, play ball, be a rapper, or something other than a business person or a professional or having some kind of trade. Beyond going to the military, which there’s nothing wrong with that, but you just don’t get the influences that these kids need from a city point of view. Because everything they see on TV is so unattainable.
Noah: So is it complete serendipity or just luck for you. Because obviously, you didn’t buy into the ‘slangin’ crack rock or wicked jump shot.’
Nah. I had friends that did that. They lived next door to me. I played ball when I was in school, but I identified early on that I wasn’t going to make it to the league. For me, I knew my talent was in design. I knew my talent at the time was in art. But I was able to identify that at an early age. Granted, artists don’t really get paid. Until you die, pretty much. So I had to rechannel that into design which is different.
Again, I had people tell me to not do it. So I think today, it’s the same situation. Kids don’t have influences letting them know that they can be something other than what they see on television. So I spent a good deal of my time mentoring kids. Black, white, asian, it doesn’t matter. I spend a good deal of my time mentoring kids letting them know that you don’t necessarily have to make that jumper, but you can create the product for the guy that’s making the jumper. He’s wearing your shoe.
This is my NBA. When I turn the TV on, I can see the stuff that I’ve created on television. So for me that’s a big high and an achievement as far as I’m concerned.
But to answer your question, it’s the same thing dude. Kids. It’s just exposure. I mean it’s getting better. More and more kids are noticing and getting interested in footwear design. But there’s still no school.
Noah: Really?
Nope. You can go to school and take an industrial design degree.
Z: But there’s no footwear design?
No.
N: Is that something Nike would do? I mean, they’ve got the money, right?
They’ve got a little bit of money (laughs).
N: Can’t you just anoint Lebron as the best player ever?
Well, that will never happen. The anointing part. Or best player ever part. But, I’m biased.
I’m working with them on a nationwide design competition for high school kids. You have to be in high school, 14-18 years old to be a part of this competition. The winner gets a scholarship to school or the equivalent in computer equipment to help further advance their design career.
So it’s small things like that Nike can do as being the leader in the industry that could create further awareness to these kids. There’s people that look like you that do this too. So you don’t have to be Carmelo. Or Lebron. Or D Wade. You can be the guy who is doing their product.
Actually, what’s funny, D Wade is an interesting one because the guy who designs Dwyane Wade’s shoes, his name is Dwayne Lawrence. He used to be a Miami Heat bellboy growing up. I thought it was interesting how he comes full circle and gets involved in this activity, not knowing that they would link back up again.
But he was also influenced by another gentleman, Jason Mayden, who works in Brand Jordan. He was influenced by him. So what happens is it becomes a trickle down effect. Once someone is established, hopefully they give back to others and bring in more people. There’s starting to become a train and cause and effect of more people coming into the business. They’re starting to influence younger kids to make this a career opportunity.
B: So you do a lot of mentoring. I’m sure you give a lot of advice. But if you could give yourself one piece of advice, going back, coming out of high school, what would you say?
Try to find a mentor. Seriously. Try to find a mentor because mentors can help you. They did it already. So whatever you’re trying to do, they’ve done it already. And they can help you create that path of clarity of what you should do and what you shouldn’t do. I didn’t have that. I had to hustle. I had to ask everyone who was around me. For me, I had to basically take advantage of the people who were around me. I constantly asked questions. You hear that saying, ‘No question is a dumb question,’ that’s true. Because you never know who you’re talking to.
You never know who is sitting next to you. Just being aware of what your surroundings are. The biggest thing is try to find someone who you can talk to. If you’re trying to do anything, any career opportunity, try to find a mentor or someone that, if they’re not a mentor, at least is someone who can try to help you and guide you in the right direction. Because like I’ve said, they’ve done everything you want to do already. They can help save you a lot of time, and probably a lot of money, if you can find the right person to help you on your way.
And going back to the card my mom gave me, it’s going back to believing. Believe in your abilities. If this is your passion, don’t let anyone discourage you. Because you’re going to regret it. I have a lot of friends that regret that they didn’t do what they wanted to do in high school. And they end up secondary, third option type of things. And they see me, and they know me from middle school. They’re like, ‘Wow. You’ve been doing that since middle school. And you’re doing it today.’
I have friends that play professional ball. I have friends in every spectrum. Dope dealers. Gang bangers. Actors. Rappers. All of it, all on my street. They all grew up on my street. It’s just that we all took different paths. But it’s like we had the ability to bounce things off of each other. So friends are important.
I remember this motivational speaker by the name of Les Brown. He had made a statement of ‘You are who you hang out with.’ Simple as that. You become whoever you’re associated with. So if you’re around that dope dealer dude, more than likely, you’ll become that dude. If you’re around athletes, you’re going to be in that circle and you become that. I just had multiple influences. I had older brothers. They gave me a nice blueprint of what not to do (laughs). So I didn’t do a lot of those things.
Noah: Do you buy into that?
What?
Noah: That you are who you hang out with?
Yeah.
Noah: You grew up on a street with dope dealers, gang bangers, rappers, and actors. You are none of those things.
Only from the standpoint that I was able to see that I didn’t want to do that.
Noah: So it might be modified to say that you are who you hang around with if you’re not sure enough to pick out the flaws of the people you hang around with.
Pretty much. Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.
Noah: I think that’s exactly what your guidance counselor told you. You’re black. You’re from Inglewood. Go to the Army. You’re screwed. You’re fucked completely.
Pretty much.
Noah: So that’s assuming that because you hung around with all those people, and because of the street you were from, that’s who you were automatically. The only thing that was going to get anything out of you was a drill sergeant. But in fact, certain kids who have enough intelligence sit around and say, ‘Wow. Those kids are getting killed. There are kids that are going to the NBA, but I’m not seven feet tall. Maybe it’s time I can start looking at what type of shoes I can fill.’
But that’s a rare situation though. More times than not, they end up becoming who they hang around with. Or who they associate themselves with. But like I said, I had older brothers who created a path for me. They didn’t know they did, but they created a path for me. And so I was able to see through some of that stuff.
Plus, some of the guys I grew up with that were banging or selling dope, they respected the fact that I didn’t want to do that necessarily. Because they respected the fact that I wanted to play ball or draw, they didn’t impose that upon me. So that was also key as well.
But the same things apply dude. Exposure. If these kids don’t know that they can be other what they currently see on television, they’re not going to have it. They’re not going to have the drive or determination to do it. Some will. I hope more do than not. But more than likely, if you play the percentages, it’s not going to work out. It’s not going to work out. It’s not going to work out.
Even today, when I see kids, I look just like you dude. But you don’t know what I do. I get that all the time, traveling and stuff. There are stereotypes. There are still stereotypes where I travel in first class at times, but in a t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. But you don’t know what I do. They just assume that I’m a rapper.
But even high school kids. There was a group of kids that came up from LA. There’s this lady that will bus kids up to different parts of the country. There were a few kids from my high school that came up.
I was giving this one guy a tour of the campus. I was showing the outside basketball courts called the Coup. And he was like, ‘Aw man. You don’t know nothing about this.’ I’m like, ‘You don’t know me. How much money you got?’
We bet. He put it on the line. Twenty bucks. I’d double whatever he had in his pocket. Put it on the line. I’ll give you ten shots. Whoever makes the most out of ten shots gets the money on the floor. He missed all ten. I actually gave him twenty shots. I knocked down the second shot.
I was like, ‘Look. I’m keeping your money.’ I kept the money. Because it was like, ‘You don’t know who I am. So don’t assume or make up what you think they are. You have to get to know people. You have to understand who you’re around, because you never know who can help you.’
He was twenty dollars light. Now, hopefully, he’ll pay more attention to who he’s around. And he wasn’t even that good. He played football.
Noah: You should just go around and hustle high school kids.
Yeah, I took his money. ‘Can I get it back?’ ‘No!’
Noah: What am I going to teach you if I give you this money back?
Exactly. That’s my point. That was my lunch.
B: Well, thanks for taking the time today. Like I said, really inspiring story. I think a lot of people have a lot to learn from you. You are that card that you have in your wallet.
Yeah, I’m still working on it dude. I mean, it’s a work in progress. It’s been eighteen years. It’s been awhile, but every day is a new journey. Seriously. In this business, or any kind of talent business you’re in, you’re only as good as the last thing you did.
So for me, I’m only as good as the last shoe I did. I don’t dwell on anything I’ve done in the past, because it’s the past. I don’t talk about it much. Like I tell my new guys, ‘You should never have to talk about how good you are.’ Other people should do that. Always show your ability through your work. Let your work speak for yourself, because that’s going to last longer than you. So when you leave this earth, your work is still going to be here. So whatever you do, make sure it’s your best stuff because that’s what you’re going to be judged on. Especially in our business.
When we do product, we have elaborate stories and concepts and support to design ideas. But when it goes into a store, it’s just sitting there by itself. It has to be able to spark some kind of an emotional response from the people who walk in. For me, I just tell them to always let your work speak for itself. Because it will, whether it’s good or bad. It’s definitely speak for itself. But never talk about how good you are. Never brag or any of that kind of stuff because you just open yourself up to criticism. But again, let other people talk about you.
B: Definitely.
Z: You don’t design anything else besides footwear at this point. Right?
Actually, when I was in high school taking drafting. For me, I had to do it for four years. By the time I was a senior, I was designing buildings in Inglewood. Parking lots, extensions to houses. Just because I got to a certain point where there was nothing else I could do that was in the book. So I got to a point where I physically started to apply what I learned into real time opportunities. Some people got a lot of free work from me when I was in high school (laughs).
I still like doing that. I also study interior design. There was a training facility called SCROC. I don’t know what the abbreviation stands for. But for fifth and sixth period I would take a bus and go to this alternative schooling where you can take up different trades. The one I did was interior design, because I figured I was going to be an architect. So I needed both of those together. So I started learning color and cement. That’s actually where I was turned off by architecture because I had to start studying dirt and cement. It just wasn’t interesting to me. I just wanted to make stuff look good.
I wasn’t interested in the other part. Now I understand the importance of understanding your foundation before you can do something else. So interior design, architecture stuff. I still play around with that.
Z: Even for this you probably have to know a lot about materials.
Oh yeah dude. There’s a lot more than people may know. Engineering is huge. Being able to do blueprints and sections and accuracy and measurements. Leathers, rubber compounds. There is a lot of chemistry involved. I mean, it’s flushed out on the other side, but it helps to understand why rubber is soft. It helps to understand why leather streches in certain ways. So there’s a lot to it.
For me I just look at it like, if you can design one object, you should be able to design another object. So I get paid to do shoes. So I focus mainly on that. But I can do other things if I had to. Or if someone paid me, I could.
But as far as I’m concerned, if you design footwear, you should be able to design any piece of footwear that exists. If you do your homework and understand what it’s about, you should be able to do anything.
Actually Nike asked me to do, I’m working on this Olympic equestrian boot. I never rode a horse. I never watched equestrian rides either.
Noah: Did you get on a horse?
No. But I bought videos on it. I bought magazines and books on it. I studied the entire industry and the process. And I created an equestrian boot. It will be in the Olympics next year.
So you have to emmerse yourself in the process. But I am going to ride though. There’s a couple stables here and they offered to give me and my daughters lessons and stuff.
Noah: Does Nike make polo equipment in South America or something?
No. Just for the Olympics.
Noah: Oh wow. That’s cool.
Brett: How has that transition been from Inglewood to Beaverton?
Noah: Cloudy?
I welcomed it. For real man. I mean growing up in LA dude? It’s concrete and palm trees out there dude. Grass is usually dead. Coming here I got grass. I got like, green trees. I mean the neighbors are nice. I remember when my wife and I moved in, one of our neighbors baked us some cookies. And they brought it down to us. We didn’t eat the cookies. We were like, ‘This ain’t normal.’
Noah: Just staring at the cookies?
Yeah. Just not normal. The neighbor brought us a bottle of wine just welcoming us to the neighborhood. You don’t have that in LA. We don’t talk to people. You just don’t talk. So I would say that’s the biggest difference, is just how nice and genuine and the people here are. The weather, it rains a little bit compared to where I’m from. But it’s alright.
The air is cleaner. You can actually breathe up here compared to LA. But it’s cool. I like it. Cost of living is much appreciated. Much appreciated.
Noah: What is your official title here? I didn’t do my homework.
Footwear Design Director.
Noah: Footwear Design Director. For Jordan Brand?
For Jordan.
Noah: That’s pretty badass man.
Yeah. I’m happy about it (laughs). Yeah, I’m happy about it.
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THERE ARE 15 RESPONSES TO THIS INTERVIEW
Arash Says:
December 27th, 2006
Mr.Edwards, I have to say that you have a good taste in sketching shoes out. Way to go!, I just dropped by to really say keep up the good work ;), But if you dont mind, i would like to ask one question, would you happen to know when the jordan melo m4 shoes will be made, If you dont know then dont worry about it.
Thank you Mr.Edwards.
D’Wayne Says:
January 4th, 2007
Arash, thank you for the kind words and I appreciate your support. I am currently working on the M4 and it will be in store on 11/24/07.
D
Michelle Walcott Says:
January 10th, 2007
Hey D’Wayne,
You know I’m one of your biggest fans. I am so proud of you. You know teachers always complain about the school system requiring them to teach the “test” vs. teaching the “student”. If our educators spend their talents on the development of the individual, they would uncover hidden talents, gifts, and passions, that we all possess. It takes a very strong person, let alone a kid, to overcome preconcieved notions put upon them by society because they don’t come from a more affluent neighborhood. Its as if there is this blanket stamp that dictates “ALL KIDS FROM THIS SIDE OF THE TRACKS WILL HAVE TO BECOME A BEAUTICIAN OR ENLISTED PERSONNEL.” Little did your counselor know that you are one of many in your neighborhood with an aggressive,innovative, and entreprenurial spirit.
Arash Says:
January 11th, 2007
Thank you very much, and i wish you good luck on them.
D’Wayne Says:
January 14th, 2007
Thanks Michelle, one day I will have my own school and I can guide young minds like mine to greater things than what others expect from them.
Thanks again..
D
Arash Says:
January 15th, 2007
Hey Mr.Edwards, i just dropped by to say hello and keep up the good work. its never too late to encourage someone ;). I will stop by later.
Pursue the Passion: The Interviews » Blog Archive » Josiah Lake Says:
May 4th, 2007
[…] Previous: Jarrod Dillon | Next: D’Wayne Edwards […]
Matt Says:
July 11th, 2007
Hey Dwayne,
Your designs are sweet and its clear you’ve done your research. I just wanna know if a foreigner was gonna work at Nike would they pay for his complete visa process
cheers Matt - GO ROCKETS - JORDAN IS THE GREATEST TO EVER TOUCH A ROUND BALL
Larry Says:
September 5th, 2007
I wanted to thank you for the time you spent building this page.o
Jerry Says:
September 9th, 2007
This is very interesting site…D
Lemuel Says:
July 23rd, 2008
Hey Mr. Edwards,
It’s over a year later but I have never heard of this interview until now. I just finished my first year in college, and I have absolutely no interest in my current field of study. But I keep hearing that I should stick with it. People keep telling me that designing sneakers is a dream job, not a reality. I have nothing close to a mentor but I believe I have all the talent and ability to do a lot in the sneaker industry, like you. I respect you and your story but I need help and support. I don’t know if there’s anyway that I could contact you to get your help and wisdom. I want to design sneakers! Please help me.
Jarrett Dunbar Says:
August 25th, 2008
Hey Mr. Edwards,
I am a high school sneakerhead in Peoria, Arizona and really want to get into the industry. I am taking design and merchandising classes to get a little better at the designing part. Are there any other classes that I should take before I make footwear design my minor(international marketing is my major.) ? Working for Nike is a big dream of my mine and I want to turn it into a reality whether it be designing the newest pair of kicks or traveling around the world selling them. Please help me out with this. Arizona is not big with REAL sneakers and It’s hard to find a mentor, especially in the suburbs.
Pursue the Passion: The Interviews » Blog Archive » Brian Hugaboom of Collins College Gets Creative After Hours Says:
November 24th, 2008
[…] doing freelance work after attending college for Graphic Design. From an early age Trevor wanted to design shoes for Nike. This passion for design led Trevor to pursue his passion and landed him a really cool job doing […]
Pursue the Passion: The Journey » Blog Archive » When I Grow Up, I Want To Be… Says:
November 25th, 2008
[…] Jordan Footwear Designer: I started drawing shoes in the 7 th grade on little 3 x 5 index cards. My teacher, her name is Mrs. Weathers. She used to keep them. I actually used to get in trouble because I was drawing instead of paying attention. […]
Pursue the Passion: The Journey » Blog Archive » And the Stats Coming Marching In Says:
December 2nd, 2008
[…] of the searches come from the word ‘passion,’ or from one of our more notable interviews – D’Wayne Edwards, Samantha Harris, Matt Klentak.Guess we have to interview more passionate famous […]
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