Plae has announced the next collaborator in its “Art of Plae” series: artist and illustrator Jasper Wong.
Like Oliver Black and other Art of Plae headliners before him, Wong is teaming up with the San Francisco-based brand to design a special capsule of shoes featuring his colorful artwork, which he describes as “a unique clash of Asian-influenced pop culture on paper.” But this time, there’s a twist: Wong is turning to Plae’s young fans to help create one of the designs in the collection.
Kids from around the world are being invited to submit drawings of original monster characters, and Wong will choose his favorites to reimagine and incorporate into artwork that will be featured on a Plae high-top sneaker for kids. Wong will also create an adult high-top to complement the kids’ style. Both shoes will be available for purchase in spring ’19.
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“The idea came about from a project I did at a preschool recently. I had the kids create their own monsters, and I redrew them onto a canvas. The kids were incredibly excited to see their work reinterpreted,” Wong explained. “Children are overflowing with creativity, and I want to highlight that in this collection [for Plae]. This is an opportunity to showcase the little people in our lives and give them a [creative] platform. [These shoes are] something kids can wear every day as they go off on their many adventures.”
Ryan Ringholz, founder of Plae, said Wong’s colorful, playful aesthetic is a natural fit for Plae’s artist series. “We’re huge fans of Jasper’s whimsical style – it really speaks to the inner kid in us all. So we were thrilled when Jasper came up with the idea of merging community art into his ‘Art of Plae’ collection.”
Kids can submit their monster creations digitally via Plae’s website through April 18 at 11:59 p.m. PST. “I’m already inspired by the submissions that have come in so far,” Wong said. “I’m looking forward to being part of kids’ imaginary worlds.”
