THE DETROIT NEWS
FREDDY DIAZ DESIGNS SHOE FOR VANS
TO RAISE MONEY FOR DETROIT VENUE DURING CORONAVIRUS SHUTDOWN
Vans is featuring a custom-designed El Club sneaker in its Vans Classic Slip-On silhouette on its website. Proceeds from sales of the sneaker, which costs $90 and is limited to 500 pairs, will benefit El Club, its overhead and its staff of 16 employees.
"Vans is going to save our ass and help a lot," says Drew Drialo, El Club's talent buyer.
El Club is one of 34 nationwide restaurants, skate shops and music venues to be featured in the first wave of the Vans promotion, which will eventually include 80 businesses. Premier skate shop in Grand Rapids is also a part of the program.
The sneaker is designed by Freddy Diaz, a Southwest Detroit artist known as SW Freddy, who got the call from El Club last week to put together a design and pulled an all-nighter to get it done on deadline. Diaz is also working on an upcoming gallery show which is set to do a virtual opening on April 17.
"It was literally crunch mode times three," Diaz says.
The design is in an eye-popping pastel orange and features two dancing calacas, or skeletons, as well as other pieces of neighborhood flair.
"I just wanted to create something that highlights the neighborhood and highlights businesses like El Club," says Diaz, 27. "Part of it was the community, and the other half is what the venue stands for.
"I feel like we represented not only El Club but Detroit very well," says Diaz. "Even if you’re not from Mexicantown or Southwest, I think if you see that shoe, it gives you a sense of pride and a sense of ownership to the shoe, and that’s what I was going for."
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By Adam Graham, The Detroit News
