Fernanda Fekiro

Fernanda, what’s your relationship with sneakers?

~~fernanda~~ Look, I really like sneakers, I’m not actually a collector but I’m kinda a sneakerhead because I dig them. I look for their stories, and I’m always checking out the best sneakers websites. But I’m really picky when it comes to buying sneakers, because they’re really expensive, it’s an investment I make. I usually look for the ones I like in black, and since I wear a really small size, it’s really hard to find the models I want. But when I find one, I buy them no matter the price. When I find a pair I like, I’ll do whatever it takes to get them, I’ll go across the planet if I have to.

Since I was 15, I go after sneakers. There was this time I was in Orlando, and I stopped this guy on the street, because he was wearing these beautiful golden Bape Stars, and I asked him where did he buy them, and he obviously said: Japan. It was a dumb question, because I thought “maybe there’s an official reseller in the US?” At that time I didn’t even know what sneakerheads were, but today I can say “I’m a sneakerhead only in my mind, because in my pockets I sure am not.

I rather buy sneakers than shoes you know? And if I have to buy shoes, its going to be a Dr. Martens. I like the stories behind the sneakers I wear, I’m not going to buy Zara sneakers because they have no history. I only like to buy classic brands, the ones that have been making sneakers for some time now, it’s really a matter of history. And I really have a thing for skate sneakers.

And what’s your relationship with this Sk8-Hi?

~~fernanda~~ I had another SK8-Hi that I bought when I was 14 or 15 years old. It was my first vans. I wore it for like 7 years, until one day I got home from a trip and my sneakers where gone. Obviously my mom gave them because they were all worn out, there were pieces actually falling apart. So I thought “I think I’m going to have to buy a new one of these”, and I researched all the SK8-Hi there are. I found this one, which is really cool because it’s a slim version, and it has a narrow upper, a bigger side stripe, and it’s also sort of a mid top. I particularly love mid tops and almost all my sneakers are mid.

Do you have any specific story to tell with them?

~~fernanda~~ I don’t think I have a story with them but they’re like my go to sneaker, I really use them every day, they are sneakers I do everything in them, even though I have others. Even for its shape and its size, it’s so simple. It’s that going out shoe, I’ve puked on them once, it has gone through everything. I actually treat them quite well, I even brush them from time to time, I try to take good care of them so they last longer, different from other pairs that just put on and that’s it, you know?