LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Lafayette man's online class project was picked up by Reebok, and it's now selling as a limited-edition shoe both online and in stores in the southeastern U.S.
Isaac Reeves enrolled in a ten-week course through the online platform Yellowbrick to help design a sneaker called the APB X Yellowbrick CL Legacy "Duality." Now, 150 pairs have been manufactured by Reebok and are being sold by fashion retailer APB at store locations in South Carolina and northern Florida only. But you can also order a pair online.
“My mom, dad, stepdad, and stepmom are all artists, and they’ve supported my aspirations," said Reeves, an aspiring designer who was born in Lafayette and moved back to Indiana after living and attending college in New York. "I also soaked up a lot of visual inspiration from my sixth-grade art teacher, who introduced me to Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Roy Lichenstein,” said Reeves, who attended middle school in Harlem.
“The experience of learning about the ins and outs of the sneaker industry from the Yellowbrick course and having my design for Duality hit the marketplace has all been life changing, and I’ll be taking all that I’ve learned and using it in my journey forward.”
Reeves was one of 36 young students in the course that explored the skills needed to work in the sneaker industry. His design was chosen by Reebok and APB and he was invited, along with two other students in the course, to help develop the Duality design and bring it to market.
Proceeds from the sale of the sneakers will provide additional funding for the non-profit Yellowbrick program.