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BHM 2024 Interview: Sneaker Designer Frank Cooke

Black History Month is a perfect time to celebrate the impact that black creators have had on sneakers and culture. For Shoe Palace, we are indebted to the greatness of black creatives and the contributions they have made to the footwear industry.

Frank Cooke, a legendary designer who has worked with Jordan Brand and Wish ATL shares his journey in the sneaker world.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN THE FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY?

FC: I’ve always been a footwear/shoe collector, it was one of my passions. Ever since I was little, my mom would always cop shoes so I knew what industry I wanted to be in and always gravitated towards it. I started out as a Sales Associate when I was 14 at Footaction. It was fun to be around sneakers so I grabbed a weekend job in high school. After I graduated, I worked at Wish ATL as a Sales Associate while doing classes. I interned with Nike from 2006 to 2007. After I graduated, I moved out here to Portland because I thought I could get a job, but [Nike] was having a hiring freeze, so I worked at the Levi’s store. One day, Wish ATL mentioned they were going to Magic (Trade Show) Las Vegas. That day, I was finishing a shift and the lady said rearrange something and I said, yeah nah and walked out to go to Magic with no money, no nothing. I got hired as the Buyer at Wish ATL and during my career there collaborations weren’t a big thing so I started collaborating with different apparel, streetwear, and footwear brands such as 10DEEP, MISHKA, adidas, Nike apparel. It was dope, it manifested into something bigger, I worked with a great team [at Wish ATL]. We started doing editorials for boutiques, Hypebeast, and different fashion blogs that catapulted. We definitely wanted to give back to the community with different events; we did [an event] with Jordan Brand where kids were able to bring their portfolio to the Design Team. We did different some cool footwear projects that lead to Jordan Brand where Gemo Wong [reached out] with a part-time position to be ETW (Contract worker). When I got there, they gave me a catalogue and said I could do dope stuff with it, materialize, story tell, and the samples will come back in 6-8 weeks. So I just started going ham, making 2-3 shoes a day. The projects I worked on with the team were athlete based, there were no influencers, small projects with entertainers like Eminem, but it wasn’t official releases yet. It was a good new space for them and that catapulted the start of Nike NRG in 2015. The team was me, Jeff, Pauly, Brian. It was a great team and it was good for me because I got to learn the process of how to construct shoes and the process of concept stage to getting it to the consumer. To be able to story tell, I had some great leaders like David Creech, he let me open up, let the team do great projects, understood our vision and let us run with it.

frank cooke

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT SOME PROJECTS YOU WORKED ON IN THE PAST?

FC: Initially, having the team bring in the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 ‘Cactus Jack’ and the Travis projects up until the 6. Working with the team and Virgil Abloh, on the great details of

the Off-White x Nike “The Ten” and working with the other teams to help the project come to life. It was a magical time, this changed the forecast and outlook of what sneakers really meant to the community. I felt like that was the catalyst of what we see today like with Travis’ reverse Swoosh and Virgil’s quotes [on the shoe designs].

It was truly about the team and less about me. It was about having a great group of people who formed Voltron, who was able to create something dope for the sneaker community.

Also, one of my biggest passions is women’s product and working with Aleali May. Working on her footwear projects from start to finish really gave me a different perspective. I love working on women’s product because my biggest inspiration is my mom and her shoe shopping. When you go to the women’s shoe section, you see the different materials, heights, forms, and I’ve always been inspired by women’s footwear because it’s so different.

WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PROJECTS TO WORK ON TO DATE?

FC: The Jordan Wings 5 and working with The Wings Foundation with Jordan Brand. The kids were able to show their art and have a shoe go to retail and be proud of it. I loved working on the Doernbecher project. The brand stories: Top 3, Shattered Backboard 2.0, to be able to share stories and the history of Jordan was a vibe as well.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS YOU LEARNED WHEN YOU WERE STARTING OUT IN THE INDUSTRY?

FC: Be a team player. Even though you have a creative mind and things that you want to see happen, it’s about the team. It’s about taking in other people’s thoughts and making the right thing together.

WHERE ARE YOU HOPING THE INDUSTRY WILL GO IN THE FUTURE?

FC: It’s about educating the youth. I know that they’re going to do projects way beyond what I could ever imagine. I know that technology is ramping up and they’ll have resources to be able to work at a faster pace. I’m excited to see what the future holds and what the youth have planned.

frank cooke sneaker designer

DID YOU FACE ANY STRUGGLES AS A BLACK MAN IN THE SNEAKER INDUSTRY?

FC: As a black creative, it was tough for me to navigate through corporate life. I don’t think that’s something that’s learned, acquiring that knowledge and working through it. Sometimes it was challenging knowing that there’s something that you lived through and

not learned as far as trends or something that you live, but having to work with authority on that having people tell you about you when you’re the one that creates it. It’s hard when someone tells you something is dope based off data. It’s a common struggle, but you have to pick your battles.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE INFLUENCE OF BLACK CULTURE IN THE WORLD OF SNEAKERS AND FASHION?

FC: It’s cool to see how far the influence of black culture has come. Fashion started with Hip Hop and streetwear was kids that were very forward, creative, and created their own sense of style. To see it grow into what it is today based off of organic vibes and becoming a multibillion dollar industry off of creativity in the black community is awesome to see.

HOW IMPORTANT IS DIVERSITY REPRESENTATION IN SNEAKER DESIGN; BOTH IN TERMS OF THE DESIGNER THEMSELVES AND THE STORY THEY TELL THROUGH THEIR DESIGNS?

FC: I think that’s huge. Using design as your voice, everyone has a story to tell, you have to understand what someone is trying to convey through their art, talents, and craft. I respect all people; everyone has a story to tell and everyone’s voice needs to be heard.

CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE ROLE OF SNEAKER CULTURE IN EMPOWERING AND UPLIFTING BLACK VOICES AND NARRATIVES?

FC: It’s far beyond footwear, it’s far beyond sneakers, but it is a great platform to be heard. Starting with the foundation of black and brown culture is where you see these stories come to life whether it was an athlete, Michael Jordan or artist, Run DMC, to all these great stories that were made by black and brown people. You see these stories come to life in footwear and beyond.

ANY ADVICE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS?

FC: To always trust your gut. Trust what you believe in. It may not happen when you want it to, it’s all on God’s timing. Believe in your vision and what you want to see happen because it will, it just may not be on your timing.

ANY LAST WORDS?

FC: Shout out to the Mersho Family and for shining light on black and brown culture.

I’m excited for all of the SP projects and what we have coming soon. I know there’s endless possibilities for the team and can’t wait to see what the team has cooking. Shout out to the Shoe Palace team: Design/Product Development and Photographers.

 

-Alyssa Caampued