For this pair of custom sneakers, which he stitched up using his own leather, Kenneth Cole decided on two things. First, he was going to make a pair of Dunks, and second, he was going to make them Yoshi Dunks.
In sneaker customisation, this is what’s known as a reconstruction, where you take a shoe Nike made—in this case a pair of Dunks—take them apart, then rebuild them using your own materials, so you can get exactly the look and colourway you’re after, in a silhouette you’re already into.
In this case that’s a pair of one-of-a-kind Yoshi Dunks, which keep things pretty subtle by only using the character’s colours and some ribbing on the swoosh to match those running down Yoshi’s spine. No logos, no catch-phrases across the heel, no weirdness on the tongue, just keeping things nice and simple.
I’m not really a green sneaker guy myself, but I’m really liking the two-tone midsole, which combines gum with some Yoshi orange, and which you can see best in the shot above.
You can see more of Kenneth’s stuff at his Instagram.