Inspired by Virgil — Making the Louis Vuitton Air Force 1

Making Custom Louis Vuitton Air Force 1 (And Giving it Away)

When Virgil and Nike teamed up to create the recent Louis Vuitton Air Force 1, the sneaker world went crazy. We couldn't grab a pair or make it onto the friends and family list, so we decided to make our own. 

Yes, Vick Almighty was crazy enough to make his own LV Air Force 1s out of a real Louis Vuitton Monogram bag. And yes, we gave them away, because why wouldn't we? 

Would you have the guts to cut up a real LV bag to make some custom sneakers? 

A Worthy Sacrifice

For those of you who've seen some of Vick's customs in the past, you know that there are occasional casualties as a result of the customization process. For this custom sneaker, that just happened to be an expensive one. In order to fully create this custom LV Air Force 1, Vick had to cut up a real LV monogram bag. 

Vick purchased the bag earlier this year at Sneaker Con Las Vegas, and now it's finally serving its purpose as the idea behind this sweet Louis Vuitton Air Force 1. 

The Process

Cutting the LV Bag

Deconstructing the Louis Vuitton bag was the most painful part of this process, but it was well worth it. Using the leather from the bag Vick was able to make a sweet custom Nike Swoosh and well as some custom tongue tags to mimic the one's found on Virgil's Louis Vuitton Nike Air Force 1. 

After cutting the bag into workable pieces, Vick used the laser engraver to precisely cut each piece to precise measurements. This ensured that each of the two swooshes and tongue tags were the exact same. 

All-Over LV Print

The paint job on this custom Louis Vuitton AF1 turned out so clean. Vick used a variety of stencils to create an all-over print of the classic LV monograms, and gave it some subtle pop with champagne gold paint. 

Printing out the stencils and applying them piece by piece was extremely time consuming, but the results are stunning. The idea here was to replicate the look of the LV bag, and Vick did so flawlessly. 

All in the Details

Vicks' customs are so good because he doesn't leave any stone unturned. The details on this shoe really put it over the top. For example, the custom tongue tag pays homage to the same tags that Virgil used on the Louis Vuitton Air Force 1s, but they also say "made in Vick Almighty's studio" on the back. 

Another detail we loved was the subtle change to the tongue. Vick wanted this sneaker to look as close as possible to Virgil's, so he removed the entire tongue and reattached it so that it sits up a little higher. This is probably something you wouldn't notice at first, but it's all a part of the story. 

Perhaps the coolest detail is the hardest to spot; the custom engraved LV logos on the midsole. With the help of the laser engraver, Vick cut each of the 4 LV monograms directly into the rubber midsole, and it looks awesome! 

Glamour Shots — Custom Louis Vuitton Air Force 1

Embarking on a project this big can be a challenge, but it made it all worth it when we saw the winner of this 1-of-1 custom shoe beaming with excitement. Would we have liked to keep this one on our shelves? Sure! But giving it away to an awesome fan at Sneaker Con Phoenix just felt right!

Now that you've seen the finished project, do you think that cutting up the LV bag was worth the final outcome? Head over to Youtube and let us know in the comments!