In an age where footwear collaborations come a dime a dozen, it’s easy for the holistic creative vision to take a backseat to a designer’s name simply getting slapped on a shoe. Enter Martina McFlyy of Atlanta-based retailer Epitome and suddenly the idea of a shoe partnership makes sense again with her collaborative Reebok InstaPump Fury. The co-owner and creative director sought to translate the journey — or, more specifically, evolution — of a woman into her first shoe with the brand.
“The concept of the shoe comes from the idea of evolution, transparency. I feel like we are in the age of transparency, [but] transparency is a double-edged sword,” said McFlyy at the Reebok Classics x Epitome pop-up shop in New York on Oct. 12. The event marked the official release of the Evolution of the Woman InstaPump, followed by a larger release in the Epitome boutique in Atlanta as well as online on Oct. 14.
“On one hand, everyone knows everything, and everyone can access everything. But then on the other hand, with everyone knowing everything and being able to access everything, what they perceive has now become their truth. So it creates these bubbles around us. I wanted to touch on that and bring Reebok back into the conversation of fashion and women,” she continued.
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Reebok and Epitome went through six iterations of the shoe in order to ensure the concept of transparency came to life with the correct color standard on the upper. Utilizing details including white patent leather and translucent materials, the duo — after two years — achieved a modern and futuristic aesthetic. Metallic silver heels on the Reebok Classics style symbolize engineering and destructible beauty, while touches of pink represent “an intentional first step of the woman into her future.”
McFlyy’s most unique new detail on her iteration of the InstaPump is the cut-out delta symbol on the toe box. This central element combines all of the key facets of the shoe’s concept: transparency, intuition and progression. The creative director also decided to transform Leonardo da Vinci’s “Vitruvian Man” drawing into a “Vitruvian Woman” for the official logo, which can be found on the heel of the satin footbed.
The collection includes a few apparel pieces in addition to the InstaPump, which retails for $205. Styles are available for purchase now at Epitome in Atlanta and on their website.
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