Sneaker Trailblazer Richie Range: Custom Kicks and NFTs Have More in Common Than You Think
Designer Richie Range reflects on his early influences, lowering the barrier to entry for independent designers, and why NFTs are a lot like limited-edition kicks.
Designer Rich Franklin (aka Richie Range),,known for his fantastic shoe designs, has custom-created footwear for everyone from P. Diddy to Pepsi. Over his 20 years in the industry he has grown a passionate and fanatic base of sneaker enthusiasts across the globe. On the cusp of his first drop with NFT launch NFTLX.io, a collaboration with ClosedSRC, Rich reflects on his early inspirations, the intersection between NFTs and limited-edition sneaks, and championing independent designers.
You started designing sneakers when a lot of kids were just screwing around. How’d you do that?
I started when I was 14, recoloring and customizing sneakers with paint and markers. I embroidered logos on existing shoes from a mall kiosk, cut up my sister’s old Louis Vuitton bags, glued them onto sneakers, and sold them to my friends. By 15 years old, I had flipped my first 1,000 pairs of my own independently designed silhouette.
What drives you creatively?
I was always inspired by streetwear, fashion, and sports. Street culture is a part of my DNA and how I grew up. I like taking elements and putting them into unexpected places, like how I will put a high sock upper on top of a heavy running sneaker sole; it makes the shoe unique. Basketball, sports, and entertainment have always surrounded me. Now I design custom shoes for celebrities and create customized sneakers for brands and artists. I love building the creative elements of each design and implementing my own creative details.
With your drop with NFTLX.io, you’re creating a physical sneaker collection as well as NFTs. Tell us about that.
Street fashion is where new ideas are created, and has always been about collecting unique items. Sneaker culture is limited editions, collectors’ items, and one-of-a kind reverse exclusivity where it isn’t about the most expensive but the most difficult to get. NFTs exist in that same universe.
NFTs also create authenticity. With an NFT, everyone knows that the sneaker is legit. You can’t create another knockoff because the chain has all the details about who owns the shoe and you can prove it with your NFT. We decided to go one step further and put an NFC chip into the tongue of the sneaker to create even more authenticity around the shoe. Linking NFTs to our custom-made sneakers is creating the ultimate collectible sneaker.
How did this collab come about?
Me and Rick Nariani at ClosedSrc go way back. Nariani knows all the details of all the drops, and he has an amazing sneaker collection. I made a pair of shoes for his wedding. We started talking about mashing up two rare sneakers, the Union Air Jordan 4 with the Dunk, making the NFT with NFTLX.io, and I knew it was going to be amazing.
I’m excited to build up this space where digital and streetwear meet. We are at the beginning of the metaverse. And streetwear is definitely going to have a presence.
Helping the next generation of designers is important to you. How are you doing that?
I know how hard it is for sneaker artists, because I lived it. I want to help open the doors to new young designers to help them create their own customized sneakers. If you’re a designer and you want to launch some shoes, there’s a huge capital cost that most young designers can’t carry. We let designers have a chance to design and produce sneakers without hundreds of thousands of dollars attached.
You’ve said this is the moment for the independent creator in footwear. What makes you say that?
A lot of people have great ideas, but the barrier to entry in footwear is so high. It takes a lot of capital, a lot of knowledge, and great connections with factories to even explore the option. In my opinion, we’re opening up the floodgates a bit, demystifying the process, and making it streamlined for people to launch their own footwear and make an impact. They can come up with their own silhouette that they own the IP to, they own the design, they can move at their pace and do the collabs they want. This emergence of independent creators is going to shock the industry in the next 5 to 10 years.
As your business grows, how do you stay grounded?
I like to remind myself where I came from and why I do what I do. It’s cool to make historic projects come to life for big companies or celebs, but I still love making shoes for the love. For example, my buddy is getting married and wants to use his wife's wedding dress to make her a custom pair of shoes. I still do that. You have to serve the community that was there for you in the beginning. I want to make sure that as we grow and hopefully turn into a billion-dollar business, it doesn't end up losing the guys that make the industry what it is. That's what my voice is for. It's for the people that are overlooked by the brands.
Click on www.nftlx.io to see the NFT drop by Richie Range on NFTLX.io
