8th Generation Vans
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What began as an exploration of form with a sharpie and a pair of vans one afternoon by artist and educator Louie Gong , has evolved into a series of custom shoes with a growing fan base of a few thousand in a few months time.
The influence of the designs stems from the ancestry of the Nooksack tribe which stretches from British Columbia to Oregon. The artist states: “Coast Salish art is one of the ways I connect to my heritage, so it was natural that it came out sat down to make my first pair of shoes. The art style is characterized by a very strong formline, which is created using ovals, crescents, and triangular shapes that are sometimes called trigons. The formline in my shoes is often created in the negative space, just like someone creates a design in a relief carving…”
“Specifically, I want to find new ways to make this specific statement: you can embrace the dynamic realities of modern life and still maintaining strong cultural identity.”
For more on the 8th Generation line of shoes go here.
