From hand-painted sketches in his Istanbul studio to runways in Paris, Safa Şahin is creating a completely new sneaker culture – crazy and wild. An unapologetic maximalist, Safa Şahin creates unique and unforgettable designs for his projects, be that massive cheese soles or bright neon colours. Under the creative direction of Olivier Rousteing at Balmain – where he was given free rein to ‘go nuts’ – Şahin fuses the hand-sketched with technological concepting. His signature ‘variable performance’ ethos isn’t about following fashion’s fast lane; it’s about daring you to rethink what a sneaker can – and should – be. Now, Safa shares why he chose creative freedom over commercial safety nets, how he battles wasteful luxury practices, and the driving passion that keeps him sketching midnight ideas – and chasing tomorrow’s next great sneaker story.
hube: How did you decide to become a shoe designer?
Safa Şahin: My older brother studied in Istanbul – when I visited him, his roommate was a shoe designer. He made unique silver slippers and drew so well. I was a graffiti artist then and thought, ‘This is cool – I want to do that’. After high school, I joined a footwear programme.
h: Your recent Balmain sneaker collection disrupts the very idea of what luxury footwear should be. Critics are calling it wearable performance art. Do you intentionally unsettle the established order – or is it simply an honest outgrowth of your creative impulse?
SS: Actually, I try to make them as crazy and variable as possible – my style comes from fine-arts painting. I studied footwear design to learn total creative freedom in product design. In art, nobody judges you; in product, everyone judges. Sneakers must perform, but I also want a fresh silhouette and an art-piece quality. That’s my ideal, and it’s how I live – always bringing new, fresh, unexpected ideas to footwear and accessories.