Bucketfeet + Jason Peterson’s Photo-Inspired Shoe Collection
An artist-driven collaboration where imagery and materials both matter
Thanks to Instagram, photographer Jason Peterson has amassed quite the following—which, unsurprisingly, has successfully transitioned into real life. In partnering with socially-minded sneaker brand Bucketfeet, his artistic vision has taken on new life in the form of a unisex, three-shoe capsule dubbed The Jason Peterson Collection. Peterson didn’t just lend visuals to the collection, he also had a say in materials and they more than reference his signature stark black-and-white style. Between Peterson’s vision and Bucketfeet’s commitment to paying artists a fair amount for their work (all while donating a portion to charity) the value here extends beyond the aesthetics.
“I moved from New York to Chicago five years ago now,” Peterson shares with CH. “I tried to get into the creative culture, deeply. Bucketfeet kept coming up as an interesting company that was doing important things in the creative community—partnering with illustrators and designers to make these shoes.” Peterson became close with the Bucketfeet team and began to develop the sneakers and packaging over a year-long process, in what was a highly collaborative process. Peterson’s motivation for perfection is quite funny, in fact. “I’m a Jordan 3 guy. That’s all I wear. I have them in 35 coloways,” he notes. “I said, if I am going to do this it has to be a shoe that I want to wear.” It came down to details.
“The Camera Bag was influenced by my own camera bag,” he says, referencing one of the three styles. “There are two clips on the back to clip both shoes together. The material itself is very similar to camera bag material. The 3M laces glow because I shoot at night. All these details were critical.” The other two are more than variations on a theme. The Lens slip-ons sport an image on the back. The most direct, The Shot, features a high-quality printing of his image on the upper. Peterson says this isn’t his favorite, because it feels the loudest, but notes that it is the best seller to date. This is because Bucketfeet “nailed it on production quality. It looks so great in person.” And we have to agree.
The Jason Peterson Collection is available online, with all prices at $85. It’s not a limited run, in that, both Peterson and Bucketfeet hope to re-up whichever style performs best.
Images courtesy of Bucketfeet
