Shoes 53045 Breaks the Mold With the First Metaverse Sneakers

Launched in March 2019 by creative director David Tourniaire-Beauciel (formerly of Maison Margiela and co-designer of the Balenciaga Triple S sneaker) and LVMH and Kering alum Aurelia Ammour, Shoes 53045’s Metaverse-first sneakers have a retro yet of-the-moment cyberpunk aesthetic. They are genderless and vegan, plus a tree is planted for every pair of sneakers purchased.

The name is derived from a classic retro inspiration—the number 53045 entered into a calculator and flipped upside-down reads as “Shoes.” L’OFFICIEL speaks with Ammour, CEO of the brand, on collaborations, designing for the Metaverse, and the future of fashion.

L’OFFICIEL: The brand has a ‘90s cyberpunk feeling. What was the inspiration?

Aurelia Ammour: Fashion is cyclical, and everything has already been done. The important thing is to remix this aesthetic and make it feel new. We are particularly inspired by sci-fi movies, music, and putting a tech-futurist touch on it all.

L’O: How do you design a memorable sneaker?

AA: Of course, by inventing something new. Innovation winks to new generations. The floating sole on our Bump’Air is not only comfortable but also has a punk-alien feel. Sneaker lovers, aka sneakerheads, devotedly follow all the latest drops from brands like Nike or Yeezy. Then there are luxury brands like Balenciaga, which add a different level of design and make a sneaker a fashion symbol, loved not only by sneaker enthusiasts but also by a much wider audience.

L’O: Do you think NFTs make the design process more creative?

AA: Online, there is no limit; you can completely indulge yourself in the details, such as safety pins or studs, which we have to limit a bit on physical models. Instead, we can have fun in the virtual world, and then we avoid spending money on new molds, which can be quite prohibitive for an independent brand.

L’O: How was the experience with your pop-up store in Decentraland during the Metaverse Fashion Week?

AA: It was the first fashion week in the Metaverse, and we definitely wanted to be a part of it. It was a great experience, and it was interesting to create brand awareness, but it is the marketplaces that create communities like Dematerialised, Futures Factory, or even DressX that are best for creating a following.

L’O: Are your customers buying physical and digital shoes at the same time?

AA: Our first Mix’Air collab with Rico Nasty was launched in October 2021 on the NFT platform Dematerialised; it was the first NFT sneaker to collab with a music artist, and it sold out in 10 minutes. It is not necessarily the same customers who buy both physical and digital pieces, but the idea is that in the future they can increasingly overlap. Fashion lovers buy maybe 10% in NFTs; the rest is done by the crypto community—let’s say we are trying to educate them both.