LES ENFANTS TERRIBLES

Drawing inspiration from Romantic art eras and the spirit of Punk rebellion, the merger and irreverence of both worlds collide for unexpected poetic evolution. Think Basque-inspired waists, luxurious peek-a-boo sheers, daring statement collars, and opulent embellishments.

WHAT MAKES A CERTAIN design compelling? Humans are highly visual creatures, so it is innate in people to find unusual or bizarre forms intriguing. The same goes for me: I tend to catch myself being drawn to organic, borderline peculiar shapes; curves and blotches that seem out of place, yet is anything but. Some call them avant-garde; I call them human.

Human-centric designs are not obvious. Nor are they straightforward or clear. They lie in the in-between, in innuendo and the sublime. They lie in the subconscious. That may very well be the design approach of the Japanese designer Mikio Sakabe, who helms the niche shoe label grounds. With grounds, Sakabe-san explored the most intrinsic human relationship that people forget all the time: gravity.

“grounds is a brand that explores the relationship between human beings and gravity. As humans, we spend minimal to no time being conscious of the gravitational pull we experience on a day-to-day basis, despite its significance. We are interconnected with gravity; anything we do, from sleeping to standing, is all dependent on gravity,” he explained calmly. It was a Friday morning when we had this conversation and, despite the bustling business that surrounded us in that cafe, all the noise seemed to fade into the background when he spoke. “Gravity is a mystery to me. Aside from the logical explanation to this force, I always find its connection to human life fascinating.”