As somebody who is extremely interested in both art and sports, I have always loved following the latest game-day apparel of professional athletes. In recent years, leagues like the NBA, NFL, and MLB have both allowed and encouraged free expression by players. It is not uncommon to see athletes wearing painted cleats supporting their favorite TV characters, or accessories paying homage to a deceased family member or icon. Twins Outfielder Byron Buxton chose to wear a pair of cleats last week depicting the face of George Floyd in an effort to voice his passion. Blantant individual expressions across sports are a fairly new occurrence, but one that is much needed and loved by fans. These forms of expression have become particularly captivating in light of historical movements like Black Lives Matter.
Players such as Lebron James and Bryce Harper have so large a platform that their attire is able to convey a message to millions of people both on social media or on TV. I began customizing shoes last year, and I have fallen in love with creating art that people wear. Not only does athlete apparel provide a platform for athletes, but it gives publicity to artists, such a “Sierato”, a shoe artist who has amassed over 400k followers on Instagram alone. With my Passion blog, I hope to be able to follow both the amazing game-day attire of various athletes, and highlight both small and larg
e custom creators how allow for this amazing form of art. The recent growth of player fashion is not only used for political expression, but also just for fun. One of my personal favorite pieces are CC Sabathias “Thomas Shelby” cleats, worn during the MLB’s 2019 players weekend. CC payed homage to the beloved British TV series, while artist “@mache275” received sons of support for his amazing work. Another fascinating aspect of player expression are hockey goalie masks.
With this blog I hope to be able to dive deeper into the meaning of different player styles and highlight the growing business of custom designs. I hope to in turn be able to garner inspiration for my own custom shoe business and learn what it takes to create shoes that carry value both visually and with what they represent. This topic would also be very well fit for a blog because professional sports are happening throughout the year, and the flow of new style choices and custom cleats are never ending.
As someone who also loves art, this idea seems so interesting. Clothing has such a strong impact on who we are as individuals, and it’s such a simple way to express who we are to other people. Also, I think it’s so cool that you design custom shoes! Lowkey might invest.
I think this would be a great blog to read because it ties in something for everyone. Sports, fashion, art, it’s all there for people to enjoy. I feel like I would definitely learn something from your blog and be interested in seeing the apparel if you included pictures. This would be my vote for your blog.