Amid the enhanced community quarantine, people have been finding ways to cope with this new normal—even celebrities have been doing all sorts of stuff like building with LEGO bricks and documenting life as it happens. Visual artist Carlo Maala turned to drawing a handful of the most remarkable sneaker models from his personal favorite movies. In a quick chat, he told SPOT.ph that while he started this project in February, it was only when the quarantine was implemented that he worked on illustrations weekly. Sneaker store Sole Academy even reposted his work on Instagram, in line with their Sneakers On Film series.
Maala shared that he was able to pull off the unique style using Adobe Illustrator. "I was always a fan of cartoon-ish artworks with thin line strokes and loud colors. So I integrated them both," he shares. He didn't want the illustrations to be too realistic, so he went for a hand-drawn look.
He first made a list of movies he was able to watch that featured iconic sneakers, and rewatched scenes for his reference. "The first pair I made was the Forrest Gump, Nike Cortez. It was a classic shoe and one of the simplest design on my list," he says.
The result? A clean, bright look of the more recognizable pairs in film history, such as The Bride's black-and-yellow Onitsukas (from Kill Bill), as well as Marty McFly's light-up Nikes in Back to the Future II.
In an interview with SPIN Life, he shared which sneaker depiction is closest to his heart. "Favorite ko 'yong Air Command Force, kasi nagkaroon ako niyan tapos mabigat siya. Kaya na-amaze ako na naipanglaro nila 'yon sa movie!" he says with a laugh. "'Yong Jordan 11 din ng Space Jam favorite ko kasi sobrang fan ako ng Looney Tunes, tapos 'yong erpats ko may collection ng Jordan dati."
How many of these pairs have you seen on the big screen?
Onitsuka Tiger Tai Chi LE in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
You might recall that The Bride (played by Uma Thurman in the Quentin Tarantino martial-arts flick) is out to seek revenge against a group of assassins. And she did this in style by wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit and matching trainers to boot.
Air Jordan XI in Space Jam (1996)
In Space Jam, Michael Jordan breaks in the 11th shoe from his signature line to beat a bunch of aliens in a basketball game.
Nike Cortez in Forrest Gump (1994)
The titular character (Tom Hanks) runs for three years after being gifted the classic footwear—the 1974 version—and ghosted by the love of his life.
Nike Air Command Force in White Men Can't Jump (1992)
Billy Hoyle (Woody Harrelson) teamed up with Sidney Deane (Wesley Snipes) in the retro sillhouette to ball as streetball hustlers.
Nike Air MAG in Back To The Future Part II (1989)
In the time-traveling sequel to the sci-fi film, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) wears this self-lacing pair from the future. In 2018, the pair was reportedly sold at an auction for over U.S. $92,000 (roughly P4.6 million).
Adidas Rom Zissou in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
The eponymous oceanographer (Bill Murray) rocks the limited-edition white and blue sneaker inspired by Wes Anderson's cult film. Adidas released 100 pairs in June 2017, identical to the ones shown in the movie.