Five personalities from the art and visual industry review their year with FOOTDISTRICT.
2023 leaves us with the indispensable review of the best and the worst, of what could have been and what has been achieved. A look back that we at FOOTDISTRICT have wanted to make mainly visual, at least because of its protagonists, five personalities who work with visuals from very different perspectives, editorial creation, graphic direction, 3D or memes. Five artists and five questions.
BOLDTRON
Boldtron is a Creative Director and visual artist, during the last two decades he has developed his work in the field of CGI, 3D and AI, always approached from an organic perspective.
The shoe/garment you have worn the most this year.
Nike React Regasus 4 GTX. GORE-TEX ALWAYS (special mention to The North Face ’86 Low-Fi Hi-Tek Men’s Mountain Jacket
The shoe you’ve been longing for this year.
The ON CLOUDSURFER 7. They’re very gorpcorian with a slight touch of colour. Why did I keep wanting them? I’m a 47.5 and sometimes it’s really hard to get the right size.
Your favourite project of 2023.
Creative development, consulting and building a super solid community by the hand of WWW.KREA.AI , a startup based in Silicon Valley, with exceptional people from Barcelona. A project that is already making waves globally in the AI and creative community in general.
Your most important learning.
It doesn’t matter much where you go, just move forward and don’t look back. Enjoy the now.
What will 2024 bring?
I don’t know, I don’t think much, I’m just looking forward to it.
LOLA ZOIDO
Lola Zoido is a multidisciplinary artist interested in exploring how we conceive reality in the context of digital processes. Her artistic approach encompasses both the virtual realm and the material elements involved in the creation of images and seeks to understand the relationship between the digital and the physical;
The shoe/garment you have worn the most this year.
Well, comfortable bottoms are key. When it’s hot I love to wear a pair of shorts in a cool fabric and for cold weather I wear a pair of corduroy trousers from Uniqlo’s men’s pyjamas section.
The shoe you’ve been longing for this year.
I remember I saw in TikTok the Asics x Cecilie Bahnsen collaboration and I loved those silver trainers with those little drawings. But I was late and obviously they had flown out of everywhere.
Your favourite project of 2023.
It’s hard for me to choose because this year I’ve been part of some incredible projects, but I think one of the most special has been participating in this year’s edition of Cáceres Abierto. It’s an art biennial in Extremadura (doing things in my homeland makes me very happy). I participated together with some incredible companions and my intervention was a video-installation that consisted in the insertion of 3d holograms inside a cistern from the 11th century (it still seems crazy to me).
Your most important learning.
After about 12 micro-crises a year, I end this 2023 with the idea that I have more confidence in myself and that everything is going to be fine.
What will 2024 bring?
Mmmmm…. Let it be a surprise, I’d rather not know.
MILO HAMMID
“I’m Milo Hammid, I do 3D”.
Under this succinct presentation hides a visual artist and digital mutant who leads a rebellion against the canons of beauty, identity, gender and species.
The shoe/garment you have worn the most this year.
Balenciaga’s Tyrex and a very useful sweatshirt from Heaven by Marc Jacobs.
The shoe you’ve been longing for this year.
I don’t know if I want to, but I want Oakley’s, I think!
Your favourite project of 2023.
This year I have worked for other industries apart from fashion: for the music industry with XG and BB trickz and for the film industry with the poster and title animations for ”Mamántula” by Ion de Sosa.
Your most important learning.
I am more chill with the idea of things not working out just as I had planned and not blaming myself for it.
I think I’m still maturing, what a horror….
What will 2024 bring?
For my part, better renders, as I’ve bought a new rendering engine.
The rest is God’s will.
KVRPA
Karpa is 22 years old, lives in Barcelona, is a DJ and stylist in equal parts and occasionally makes memes on the fashion meme account @lasvirgilio.
The shoe/garment you have worn the most this year.
New Rock M-106, although it is true that I bought them to get rid of the thorn that when I was 14 years old and emo I couldn’t afford them, since the beginning of September when I bought them I haven’t worn any other shoe than these super platforms, in fact I’ve almost developed a dependence on them hehe, they are extremely versatile, I’ve worn them with ripped jeans and a graphic tee to wearing them with a full Lacoste tracksuit.
The shoe you’ve been longing for this year.
I really wanted the Shrek Crocs because I haven’t bought any flip-flops this year and these were ideal and super fun, just like I like the clothes.
Your favourite project of 2023.
It has arrived late but it has arrived and it has undoubtedly been Problem Solver, a small clothing brand that I have set up with some colleagues and in which I take on the role of graphic designer, communicator and a bit of the visible face of the brand, I am genuinely happy that, despite the limited initial resources we have, we have been able to get a first drop on sale and I am planning the next ones to come!
Your most important learning
My learning experience this year was undoubtedly having spent the whole summer in Germany working at Legoland, managing myself in a country I don’t know, far from my family and friends but being functional and independent at least for a few months, a maturity evolution on my part hehe. I would have liked to discover Legoland when I was 18 and not 22 but it was a fun experience to say the least.
What 2024 will bring
Well, I hope for a lot of mental health, a lot of gigs to play, a lot of artists to dress and a lot of t-shirts to sell. I’m an optimist and 2023 after a pretty awful 2022, just makes me see the amount of good things to come.
SYLVIA PEREZ
The work of Sylvia Perez includes graphic design, photography, web design, editorial and multidisciplinary projects for brands such as Puma, Salomon or Brain Dead. She loves playing with everyday objects and looking for beauties that usually go unnoticed. Sylvia Perez offers art and creative direction services in fashion, art and culture industries, i.e. she works with brands to help them create images that elevate their products and services.
The shoe/garment you have worn the most this year.
A configurable top by Marithé + François Girbaud Vintage that I found in a vintage pop-up in Paris during Fashion Week. I thought it was a blast to find it and at the same time it’s a souvenir of that trip, which reminds me how much fun I had.
The shoe you’ve been longing for this year.
Uff! I’ve been wanting a few of them, but it would definitely be the Asics x Kiko Kostadinov – Hysteric Glamour Gel-Quantum Lylia for girls with the window on the instep, both in pink and silver, and in blue and black.
It has always happened to me that the shoes that I liked were made from a 41 and in its time I never got the 97 Silver Bullet with the little red horn in girl’s size, it is a shoe that in many ways is 100% me and now that they have made it again in my size, I have a terrible desire for them. Others would be a pair of spring Nike Shox TL, all black, white or silver. I have to admit that at the time I looked at them with suspicion, but well combined and with the style, nowadays they can be a hit.
Your favourite project of 2023.
I would highlight my editorial work “Double Trouble” for Vogue Portugal, it is a project that represents very well the visual worlds that interest me, the object, materials and fashion. It also shows the way I apply my practice and interpret concepts in images.This project gave me the opportunity to form an incredible international team of women I admire, such as Parisian duo Lebon Bourgeois, Australian stylist Sara Pritchard and set designer Camille Lichestern. I am very grateful to them for embracing my idea and getting on board.
Your most important learning
One of my mottos would be “Context is the key” applied to almost everything. And a good example I always give is in relation to the value of things: “The same bottle of water can cost 50 cents in a supermarket, 1 euro in a bazaar, 3 euros in a cinema and 6 euros in an airport. The only thing that changes its value is its context. So, if you feel that where you are is not valuing you or your work, maybe you are in the wrong place and you simply have to move to a place where they know what you are worth”.
Applying this as a mantra this year has really helped me to evolve personally and professionally.
What 2024 will bring
Some of the projects I have been involved in this year will be coming out next year. Personally I apply the change of context thing to the letter, because I’m moving house. Sometimes a change of location is also a change of mindset, I can’t wait to see what it brings.Besides doing it permanently, I intend to keep travelling as much as I can, whether for work or leisure. There is nothing I love more than getting to know other places and learning how other people live and see the world.