Kicks Project

Whether you’re on the hunt for hype worthy collaborations or classic designs, Lane Crawford’s Kicks Project brings a highly covetable edit of brands, styles, and pairs that form the foundation of your sneaker collection. Home to rare sneakers and hot launches, the Kicks Project is the first of its kind at Lane Crawford – working to a drop schedule on selected dates, online and in store.

In celebration of sneaker culture, we’ve partnered with The Flying Hawk Studio’s Taka Tsui, to offer sneaker customisation services with exclusive designs upon purchase in store. Here, he offers insight into his source of inspiration, his view on the evolution of streetwear culture in Hong Kong, and his favourite picks from our latest drop.

At the Flying Hawk Studio (TFHS), we are huge fans of American and Japanese street culture and art and design. After experimenting with different images and art styles, we feel that Ukiyo-e Japanese prints work well with sneaker customisation — its clean lines and solid colour blocks create a distinctive style that is both subtle and impossibly cool. We’ve been refining this style ever since.

Streetwear culture in Hong Kong had a head start in Asia. Having great purchasing power and an open mind to new trends, local streetwear culture has flourished over the years. I think early Hong Kong streetwear was heavily influenced by the Harajuku style due to celebrity endorsements and media promotion. The internet has made information a lot more accessible, giving timely updates on the latest trends. We are currently seeing more Western — or even various cultural — influences in Hong Kong streetwear today.

Streetwear is inseparable from music, sports and art. The way young people dress reflects what music, sports, or art they are into. It never hurts to see more styles around.

We never limit our medium or the way we create — we draw on sneakers and apparel, and we paint murals and make digital art. Apart from 2D creations, we also design clothing and accessories. We encapsulate the attitude of streetwear by basing our creations on things we love without feeling the need to justify what we do.

Everybody at TFHS collects sneakers we like, but we wouldn’t label ourselves as sneakerheads. We are devoted sneaker lovers — collecting everything from popular skate shoes and limited-edition basketball models to new running shoes or vintage Japanese sneakers. We’re also drawn to shoes with beautiful classic designs, innovative materials, and ones with special stories behind them.

I’ve noticed that the sneaker offerings at Lane Crawford have become a lot more diverse. Apart from luxury fashion brands, there are more athleisure options from Hoka, Salomon, On Running, and more. Not to mention the limited-edition drops!

We’ve incorporated iconic Japanese imagery such as the great waves, origami canes, Mount Fuji, and koi fish into our designs to channel refreshing summer vibes. As we’ll be drawing the designs in store, we’ve opted for more minimalistic linework and colour blocks. Drawing inspiration from comics, we’ve also outlined some of the custom designs with frames to make the colours standout. We feel smaller illustrations are more suitable for sneaker art rather than covering the sneaker entirely with graphics.

Personally, my favourite designs are the great waves and koi fish because they have a leaner silhouette that pairs well with sneakers— that’s why they are also some of our most championed motifs.