So excited to finally show off these puppies! They were another custom Keds project for a swing dancer, this time featuring an art deco design.
These were made for Natasha, a med student who spent some time in Edmonton for school. The goal with this design was to capture her time in Edmonton. There were a lot of ideas and images to include, and I felt that the best way to unite all these elements was to use an overall style. In this case, art deco was the style. Not only having a vintage dance appeal, art deco has a very clean and precise look, which I felt supported the idea of medicine!
On the left toe we have the Edmonton skyline, and a dancer on the right to represent Natasha’s dance involvement. The heels show off her nickname “Dr. Jazz”, with the Dr. shoe including a Caduceus staff to represent her medical studies. On the Jazz shoe I used art deco patterns that have a musical vibe, with a more orderly pattern on the Dr. side.
The art was penciled in first, then inked with permanent fineliners of varying widths. I added some red accents throughout, but kept the colour palette minimal to preserve the clean art deco look. Fingers crossed that I can catch Natasha wearing these guys on the dance floor!