How to Customize Your Own Sneakers

By Anna Sork

How to Customize Your Own Sneakers

Here are three customization techniques you can use to take a pair of sneakers and turn them into your own.  

Paint Your Sneakers

Painting is a great technique to turn your sneakers into a one-of-one design. Whether you want to take a freeform approach, or use stencils or customization kits to assist in the process, your shoes are the perfect canvas to bring your masterpiece to life. Simply purchase a pair of sneakers (we recommend an all-white colorway to start with a blank canvas) and paints, and start creating. 

Make sure to prep your sneakers before you begin by following the steps below.

Sneaker Deconstruction / Reconstruction

Sneaker deconstruction and reconstruction is more invasive process – in which you fully rebuild your sneaker upper with new materials following the original silhouette pattern, while keeping the sole from your base shoes in tact. This technique gives you an entirely new design of your favorite silhouette – reconstructed by hand.

Check out The Shoe Surgeon's upcoming deconstruction / reconstruction courses to learn the entire process from start to finish.

The Shoe Surgeon Class

Swap Your Sneaker Soles

Sole swapping is a popular sneaker customization technique, taking the upper of an existing pair of shoes and swapping it with the soles of another pair. This process can be challenging to master, but with the proper tools and guidance you can achieve your favorite mash-up design. Check out our tutorial below for the step-by-step process.

Want to learn more about sneaker customization? Follow our Instagram for more tutorials and upcoming courses.