Nigel Langley
(Bloomfield, New Jersey)
Nigel Langley was only 17 years old when he became a designer at the adidas Brooklyn Creator Farm in 2016. After he posted some of his sketches on Instagram and tagged his footwear design idols, one of those idols, Marc Dolce, the design Vice President at adidas, noticed his work and asked him to join the company. Now working at Puma Basketball and starting his sophomore year studying integrated design at Parsons, Langley is taking big strides in the footwear industry and is making the kind of contribution that he has wanted to make to sneaker culture itself. Although Langley may be a bit of a prodigy when it comes to sneaker design, the kid from Jersey remains grateful for the opportunities that have come his way and he sees much more in his creative future.
Tell me a bit about your upbringing in New Jersey. How do you think it influenced what you’re doing now?
I’m from Bloomfield, in north Jersey. I don’t know if it necessarily had an impact on what I’m doing now. But certain things about how I grew up have impacted me. I grew up in a middle class town that’s extremely diverse, like almost ideal in the way that it was diverse. I grew up around everybody, which opened my mind to different perspectives. So I’m always open to learning new things.
As far as me becoming a sneaker designer, it wasn’t too sneaker culture where I’m from. It was there, don’t get me wrong, there are places like the Packer Shoes stores in New Jersey, where sneaker culture is alive and well. But it wasn’t a huge focus there, it was more of a high school thing. So I don’t know if Jersey necessarily had an impact on me becoming a footwear designer, but it definitely had an impact on my personality.
I read that Marc Dolce first noticed you because of your Instagram account. Why did you decide to post your work on Instagram and how did you connect with designers?
I made the account in high school. One day when I was in a driver’s ed class, my friend was looking through my sketchbook and told me to post my sketches on Instagram. So I made a page and updated it almost every day with different sketches. I would either take existing designs and evolve them or reimagine concepts through my own lens. That’s what my work was at first. And on my sketches I tagged designers that I looked up to, specific creatives rather than a brand.
It would be easy to tag Nike, but there are millions of photos tagged as Nike. There are fewer photos tagged as Marc Dolce. So I figured that was an easier way to get in contact with them. Eventually some of those designers started to see my work and a lot of different brands or designers from different brands reached out to me, and the adidas opportunity just worked out at the time.
I also read that you were first interested in designing cars and trains. When did you switch to sneaker design?
I first realized that I wanted to be a designer from watching my dad growing up because he was a freelance illustrator. As a kid, I was always drawing, I was always into art, and I wanted my art to have a purpose in the future. I also loved thinking about composition, I was one of the kids who would sit up watching shows like “How It’s Made” all night. So that sort of met with my love for art and I fell into design. But I was also really into cars at the time, so I thought I wanted to design cars for a long time, at least up to my first year of high school.
Around the time I was in middle school and high school, I was introduced to sneaker culture. But it took me a while to connect designing cars to this new passion for shoes. Then I realized that I could take what I’ve learned from designing cars and apply it to shoes. So I decided to try it out and I just started taking that same sketching technique and the same line of thinking and just applied it to something different.
What about sneaker culture intrigued you?
In middle school I was in band class one day and there was a kid sitting next to me talking about the Air Jordan 7 with a citrus colorway, and I had never seen a shoe like that. I instantly fell in love with that shoe. I thought it was really cool. That was my introduction to sneaker culture, and Jordan culture specifically. So I started researching sneaker culture, the history, as well as the contemporary aspects.
I also decided that I wanted to design sneakers because of where sneaker culture comes from. It comes from black people. We’ve created an entire, amazing, flourishing culture that has become a multi-billion dollar industry, but we’re extremely underrepresented on the creative side. In most of the fashion industry, it seems as if they like us and our culture on their billboards and in their ads, but they don’t want us in their offices. I have become more aware of this as I’ve worked in the industry. So it’s exciting to be a black creative designing sneakers.
What kind of designs do you do now?
Right now I’m working in Puma Basketball so I’m mostly focused on basketball footwear. It’s a new area of design for me because I’m not really into basketball. But that’s what I work on now, and I’m enjoying it.
When did you start working for Puma?
Puma just happened to be the opportunity that worked out the best for me right now. It has allowed me a lot of creative freedom and other opportunities. I also really like the team that I’m working with at Puma, we’re a very tight-knit team.
What was it like when you first started working at the adidas Brooklyn Creator Farm?
It was really cool. I couldn’t believe that I had that opportunity to work with and learn from so many people that I’ve looked up to for years at this point. It was a really great experience and I got to see some of my ideas come to life.
Who are some of the people that have inspired you since you began to pursue design?
Definitely the people I worked with. They are some of the most amazing designers in the world, some of the best in the industry. Marc Dolce, Denis Dekovic, Julie Inderbitzin, Federico Maccapani, Nick Daiber, Jean Khalifé, Hussain Almossawi, the list goes on.
Why did you decide to go to Parson after you already got some experience working with adidas?
I’m still considering whether or not the college degree is worth it for me. I decided to go to college because I did so well in high school and I didn’t want my work there to go to waste. But at the end of the day, I am working in a very specific field in which most learning comes from work experience. However, I do realize that when you’re a person of color in design, you have to work twice as hard to get half. So I’ve worked with some people who did not get a degree and I’m wondering, not do they need a degree, but do I need a degree? I don’t know if I can measure that off of someone else.
One thing I do like about Parsons however, is that I’ve met some amazing creatives, especially creatives that are within my own demographic. I know some really talented black people so I’m glad that I got a chance to meet them at Parsons. There’s definitely a creative energy that comes together there.
What do you see yourself doing in the future?
Most likely I’m still going to be designing shoes. I don’t know who I would design for yet. While I’m young, I really want to explore the different brands and see what it’s like working with different companies. But I do feel like I could be at Puma for a while, I really like Puma.
But I also don’t want to be just a sneaker designer. That’s another reason I’m really glad I went to Parsons. This past year exposed me to a lot of different areas of art and design and certain things have really piqued my interest. And I don’t think that I’ll ever be just a footwear designer. I don’t even think that that’s accurate now. So going into the future I do want to try some different things.
What advice do you have for your younger self who is just beginning to design?
Stay learning and stay humble.
Follow @nigellangleyjunior on Instagram
Edited by Marley Shelby (marley@andthem.com)
