We've seen wild and wacky trainer designs over the years, but this hair-raising effort takes a bite out of them all. Kerwin Frost's eye-popping – some might say nightmarish – take on Adidas' Forum Hi shoe looks like a horse's face (a horse with blue eyes and blond hair that is).
The shoe has a set of oversized teeth and bright pink gums at the toe, a nose added over the laces a pair of pop up eyes emerging from the top of the eyelets, and long blond locks trailing from the ankle collar to the floor. The design's completed with the Harlem-born DJ and comedian's signature on the ankle strap. It's quite an innovation on the classic, even prosaic, original shoe – and quite possibly the most terrifying trainer to ever be designed. If you're inspired to create your own character, horse-shoe-hybrid or otherwise, check out our top character design tips.
Frost gave fans a glimpse of the design on his Instagram feed (above). While some might assume he's horsing around, designers are loving it. "YOU ARE A MAD MAN!!!!!!!!!," the shoe designer Sean Wotherspoon observed on the post. "I need to see this hair dragging," the fashion designer Raul Lopez commented. One Instagram user went further: "The way I need these on my feet is a feeling I can’t describe. Seeing this image just sent a wave of endorphins to my skull that I haven’t felt in months." Another described them as the "true definition of individualism".
The current version of Adidas' Forum Hi (Image credit: Adidas)
Others aren't so convinced. "You guys are taking turns on making the ugliest possible Adidas collabs... undercover Nike agents," one person alleged. "Adidas pls stop this😢" was one more succinct response.
Kerwin had already designed one pair of shoes for Adidas – a "superstuffed" version of the Adidas Originals Superstars with bulked out tongues, collar, and profile, but his latest post shows that this was just the start. Both shoes are reportedly due for release in September via the Adidas website, retailing at around $250.
Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
