Dr.Z Interview with Those NBs

24 Apr 2014, 10:46
Dr.Z Interview with Those NBs

Those NBs caught up with 'City of Gold' 574 designer, Dr.Z, for an in-depth interview to discuss the intricate details of the New Balance x Shelflife x Dr.Z 'City of Gold' 574 collaboration.

As well as discussing the origins of the collab, Dr.Z shares his design inspiration and creative process behind the 'City of Gold', as well as his thoughts on the current state of the sneaker game. 



Those NBs: How did the New Balance 574 ” City of Gold” project come about?


Dr.Z: "At first it happened by casually chatting with Nick from Shelflife Store and Justin from New Balance in SA. Since 2010 (or even earlier) we would talk about how cool it would be to colab on a NB but it wasn’t until 2012, once I had been to Tokyo and met with the NB design team, that I really got the opportunity to put some ideas down. It was a huge, lengthy process but we really took our time to refine the concept."

 

 

 

Those NBs: Why the 574 model?

 

Dr.Z: "We wanted the 574 primarily because it’s so iconic and the model lends itself very well to the iconic themes and symbols of Johannesburg. It’s also a model NB were interested in promoting in our region so we decided to see how far we could take the 574 in terms of detailing and concept. I tried my best to highlight it’s strength and design integrity, its a really hard wearing sneaker and I wanted to present that “toughness” in the best possible light."

Click here for the full interview.