Guardians of the Galaxy, Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, The Simpsons, One Piece, you name it! If you see the characters from these films, cartoons, and mangas on a pair of sneakers, you can be pretty sure that it is a pair personalised by an artist.
There are several versions around the origin of the custom shoe, which originated in the United States: some say it came from the Californian brand Vans, which had made custom production its credo since the late 1960s. Others say that Bill Bowerman, one of the two founders of Nike, modified the shoes of athletes he coached at the University of Oregon in the 1970s.
What is certain is that “there is a real sneaker culture in the United States” and that “the NBA helps a lot”, says Brice Masson, a 45-year-old artist from Moselle who specialises in customising sneakers. “Over there, people can spend €500, €600, or even €1,000 on a pair of sneakers, of which there are hundreds of thousands. Customisation allows you to have a unique model.”
Based in Angevillers, about ten kilometres from the Luxembourg border, Masson created the company ‘Ceb c’est bien’ in 2021 and has since been decorating sneakers in a room in his family home. His creations have attracted attention beyond the Moselle department. Even restaurants in Luxembourg, for example, have recently placed orders with him to give their waiters more style or to wear a logo on their feet. These personalised sneakers are as much for wearing as for displaying.
“I’ve always liked original sneakers, but it didn’t go far enough for me. So one day I thought I’d try painting directly on a pair,” says Masson, who works in gastronomy in the Grand Duchy. His first attempt was to paint a monkey with headphones. “I progressed at the same time.”
Certain sneaker models are particularly popular for customisation: the Adidas Stan Smith, the Nike Air Force, or the Jordan Triple White, for example. The customers are mostly young, but the phenomenon is reaching an increasingly wider target group. And not just geeks or fashion enthusiasts. “The clientele varies from company directors to footballers, or mothers to 14-year-olds,” explains Masson.
In concrete terms, when a client contacts him for a project, “either they already have a very precise idea of what they want or they have a theme and trust me, I make a sketch and we refine it” explains the Moselle artist. On average, he works on a pair of sneakers for about fifteen hours for a price of between €150 and €200. To that, you still have to add the price of the shoes, which averages around a hundred euros.
The phenomenon of customised sneakers is slowly gaining ground in Luxembourg, mostly through individual initiatives promoted on social networks such as Instagram. In Esch-sur-Alzette, the ‘Sneak-In’ shop specialises in limited edition sneakers. For a few months now, Zachary Boudou, 23, has been restoring and customising customers’ shoes.
Unlike Masson, his first love is cleaning and restoring sneakers. “I used to buy second-hand ones on Vinted and I practised refurbishing them at home before reselling them,” Boudou explains. Social networks did the rest: friends and then some curious individuals began contacting him.
“What do we restore the most? The soles, which we whiten using UV light and then repaint, and scratches on the top, which we camouflage,” explains the young artist. In his hands, “luxury” models often pass through, such as Alexander McQueen sneakers, which cost more than €500. “At that price, people prefer to restore them rather than buy a new pair.” The average restoration price is €80, but “it depends on the work to be done”, according to Boudou.
Over time, Boudou also started customising trainers. First by adding rope laces to the Air Force One. To do this, one has to enlarge the holes and do a bit of tinkering, while specialist paints allow them to adhere better to the leather and “live” with the sneaker. “They don’t crack”, says Boudou. Before that, the customers systematically remove the original varnish before applying a new one once the designs are completed.
“My style is rather simple, logos, colours, gradients, inscriptions, small details...” Boudou explains. “I usually spend one to four weeks on a single pair of sneakers.”
Patience and a budget are the price to pay for those who want to be sure that they are wearing uniquely customised sneakers!
