New York-based footwear designer Paul Andrew announced his forthcoming sneaker collaboration with musician and actor Ansel Elgort spontaneously at an unlikely location Wednesday night (May 31) — a dinner party hosted by British fragrance brand, Jo Malone London.
According to WWD, Elgort stood alongside Andrew as he toasted to their partnership, explaining that the pair met when Elgort previously presented Andrew with the Designer of the Year award at the Footwear News Achievement Awards back in November, and it was then when the idea to collaborate together was sparked.
“We were in the car that I said, ‘I would love to do a collaboration with you,’ which I said sort of as a joke, but seriously, and he said, ‘Yeah we should,’” Elgort explained. “Eventually we actually got together.”
Elgort took interest in the brand when Andrew sent him a pair of white high-tops after the awards, “I wore the sh– out of them — or ‘cooked’ them,” Elgort said. “I liked that I could wear them with shorts and socks like you would a pair of Nikes, or I could wear them with jeans, or with a pair of pants. They were youthful and classic. They feel like they could work with a lot of different styles.”
For this event, that meant a Salvatore Ferragamo suit sans tie paired with black, white and gray high tops from his collection.
“The reason why I wanted to do a sneaker was because as a New Yorker, I walk everywhere. I want to be able to hop on a CitiBike, or jump on a skateboard, or [play] pickup basketball if I see a game,” Elgort said. “Paul Andrew shoes are clearly well made, everyone can tell that they’re really nice shoes – but they’re underexposed. I thought that if we did a collaboration together, I could help expose him, and also help bring even more flash to his shoes,” Elgort added.
He is nothing but confident that his line will do well, especially after wearing a pair of his high-tops out to the NBA All-Star game in New Orleans and received numerous compliments from spectators. “I got stopped so many times because of my shoes,” he said. “Mostly from guys, which is better.”