#SneakerheadProject: Aurelia

SHOT BY: @STILLBYHELLY

Tell us about yourself.

“My name is Aurelia and I’m a 25 year old teacher from Staten Island. I teach science during the summer time and sign language during the school year.”

How long have you been a sneaker lover?

“My whole life! I have never liked wearing dress shoes, I just always felt like it was oppressive. I probably felt that way because I danced for mad long, so being in dance shoes for a long part of the day you just want to put on some sneakers after. But once I started getting older, that really wasn’t important anymore. You know you could buy your own sneakers and you aren’t depending on your mom’s paycheck so then I started to really collect at like 16/17.”

Do you remember your introduction to the sneaker game?

“Yes! My home girl Amber was always into Bape, Supreme, ALIFE, and Married To The Mob so hanging out with her she would put me on to stuff.”

What is your favorite pair of sneakers?

“I love a good Nike Cortez. The Cortez is such a good go-to especially as a teacher since I’m allowed to wear sneakers to work. The Cortez goes with pant suits, dresses or skirts and it’s very comfortable to stand in for 8 hours during the day.”

What are you wearing now?

“I have to give a shoutout to Lou & Grey, they’re one of my favorite stores. I’m wearing a full set from Lou & Grey, my bag is a Bape bag and I have on the Sacai LD Waffle’s.”

What is your favorite sneaker colorway?

“As much as I dislike the color pink in terms of outfits, I love a good pink sneaker. So for example, I got some Air Max 1s that are what they call “millennial pink” but it’s salmon, let’s be real. You can’t go wrong with that. My college graduation I wore a black and white suit and had on some pink Air Max 1s. I love a good pink sneaker.”

If you could collaborate with any sneaker brand, who would you collaborate with and why?

“Honestly, in terms of the brands that I feel support women and support the silhouette of a woman’s foot, I would have to go with Puma. I know that sounds crazy but Puma has always constantly supported good women creative designers. You could look back at Solange’s collab with Puma it was fire. It fits a woman’s foot comfortably and it wasn’t bulky. So yeah, even though I have a lot of Nike, I do love a good Puma too.”

What do you think the sneaker game is missing?

“Yo, more women in the room! Let’s be more specific, more women of color in the room because we have been the template for everything… everything wavy honestly. Especially New York women! No shade to anybody else but you know we’ve always been tomboys so we need us in the room. Not me because I’m a teacher but my homegirls who are here who are into the creative world, they should be in there and I’m going to buy whatever ya’ll make.”

To keep up with Aurelia, follow her on Instagram @BlackMissFrizzle! She is also the curator of @KicksNKreatures so be sure to follow her on there as well!