#SneakerheadProject: Kai Tsehay
SHOT BY: @STILLBYHELLY
Tell us about yourself.
“My name is Kai Tsehay Washington and I am a 22 year old photographer. I just moved to the NJ/NY area about a month ago and I’m out here doing photography. Oh! And I went to Spelman College!”
How long have you been a sneaker lover?
“I have been a sneaker lover since I was a kid. I first started off with Converse and I actually had almost every limited edition pair of Converse. My dad is a huge sneakerhead.”
Do you remember your introduction to the sneaker game?
“In D.C., New Balances are a big thing. So as a kid I didn’t understand why my dad would get me the same pair of New Balances but it would be a different year every time. Eventually I found out why. How I fell in love with Converse? I had these shiny black Converse in Georgetown, D.C. and from there I just started getting every limited edition pair. Jordans? I have always loved Jordans.”
What is your favorite pair of sneakers?
“My favorite is the Royal Blue 1s. That’s one of my favorites right now.”
What are you wearing now?
“The sneakers I’m wearing right now are Stan Smith, these pants are from H&M, some Adidas socks, and I thrifted this vintage Adidas jersey.”
What is your favorite sneaker colorway?
“Right now my favorite are those 1s so the blue and the black—especially since since I went to Spelman.”
If you could collaborate with any sneaker brand, who would you collaborate with and why?
“I honestly would do Puma because I think Puma needs a lot of work and I feel like I have a lot of good ideas for them. Puma is still fire because it’s international. They have a huge international presence and I love the international fashion wave.”
What do you think the sneaker game is missing?
“Black women. Ya know? Catering to us. I just feel like we have our three main brands and they allow a few new designers to come in. I feel like we don’t look into other shoes besides those considered hypebeast like Puma, Adidas, Nike so I feel like we need to start looking into other brands.”
Follow Kai’s journey on Instagram @Official_Kaikai and don’t forget to look at her dope photography work @TsehayPhotography!