Young Hero is the new footwear brand that you really need to keep an eye on because I can guarantee it will soon be the name on everyone’s lips. Created by Allen Gabriel and Kyle Calvert they decided to make a unique line that was less expensive than other brand names yet easily available.
As Young Hero don’t yet have a website I’ve only managed to find out about them on Facebook and Twitter so I wanted t0 know a bit more about the men behind the designs as well as their influences and future plans. Below is an interview with Allen, one of the main guys that makes the magic happen.
What made you decide to design your own footwear?
We just wanted to be creative. We come from an area where there are a lot of people that are caught up in so much negative energy that it leaves with choices of either giving up or reaching for something big that allows you to break out of your circumstances. Everyone involved with this project has always had a love for sneakers, so when we saw so many different independent brands coming out we felt that we could create footwear that the market has seen before. We feel that our infinity to the street culture couple with our creative minds bring new life to the footwear industry.
Where did the ‘Young Hero’ name come from?
We want to help young people get away from the negativity. Where we’re from there are so many young people getting caught up in negative things. We want our brand to be symbolic of change in the way young people think. Everybody on our team is young, literally. Also, we had this cool idea that we wanted to only have young individuals that work with our company. The name signifies our youth and our mission to help young people from our respective neighborhoods succeed in life. We want to set a standard for youth worldwide, that they can do big things if they don’t allow themselves to limited by their beliefs.
What do you think designers need to do to create a lasting brand?
We just believe in being true to our values and following our intuition. If you want to have a lasting brand you have to have to be true to your identity. With us, we love being creative as well as embracing the path of being different. You may catch seven different brands using the same design in essence with difference. We think designers shouldn’t limit themselves to what the market is doing; you should do what’s true to your identity and your passions. We feel like exceptional footwear comes from designs that are created in passion.
Who or what inspires your creative side during the design process?
We’re inspired by God. We feel that God is creative in all that He does, and we reflect his nature. So honestly a lot of our inspiration comes from shoes that we feel passionate about, our personal style, and our spirituality. Most of all we’re inspired by anyone or anything that is full represents the culture of creativity. Like we said before we feel that represent the way that God thinks. This first design that we put out has a lot of detail. Each aspect captures an important representation of each our style. But the inspiration comes from just wanting to be creative and not following set rules as to how a sneaker/shoe should look. We get inspired by people like ASAP Rocky or footwear like Balenciaga and YSL. They embody creativity and class.
Do you try and give each sneaker its own personality?
We have to. You can’t make quality footwear if each design isn’t unique and cared for. We want each design to stand on its own. We take time to draw in inspiration from different elements and then incorporate into each individual design.
What other brands do you admire?
We admire all types of brands. We don’t only admire footwear; we admire different clothing brands too. We love En Noir, Adyn clothing, Balenciaga, YSL, Creative Recreation, Guiseppe, etc. Honestly, we love any type of high fashion or creative urban wear. But those brands in particular definitely have our eye.
Any advice for other budding designers?
The most important that we could give is to believe in your design and vision. Secondly, no matter what happens, do not quit on your dream. It’s taken a long time just to get to this point, and we’re still just beginning. You have a lot of people that want to succeed so fast that they don’t take the time to build a strong foundation. When we release our product, our brand is going to have a lasting impression. There are too many brands and designers out there that get boxed in because they go for the success to quick. Take time to cultivate your dream. If you really believe in your dream there should be excitement and passion behind what you’re creating.
If you could put any celebrity in one of your designs who would it be and why?
We would put Kanye West and ASAP Rocky, because right now if they endorse your design it’s going to be around for a while. They’ve become known for their fashion minds as well as their music, and honestly the Yeezy’s reflect creative genius on Kanye’s part. We feel if they were to put on our shoes, it would signify that we definitely know what we’re doing.
Why was making the sneakers affordable and easily available so important?
We wanted the shoes to be accessible because we couldn’t stand when we wanted to buy some exclusive shoes you had to go so far out of your way to purchase a pair of nice footwear. But as far as affordable for the detail and material we use, the shoes are still expensive, but in comparison to our competition and the prices they set we’ve given a very generous price to the public. We didn’t want to set the price to high because we feel that everybody shoe be able to wear a pair of luxury brand shoes if they want. That’s part of mission to influence change in the culture.
What does the future hold for Young Hero?
We see Young Hero playing a integral part in the evolution of fashion. We want to help footwear brake away from the cycle of re-branding classic designs with different colourways. We want to help the culture get back to creating unique designs on a regular basis. Hopefully, the footwear culture embraces us and allows to impact art and creative minds across the world. We want to inspire young minds to be creative in their style while accepting their responsibility to pursue their dreams.
