A personal exploration in sneaker design, Air Max Plus Banana Leaf is a playful reinterpretation of the popular 2024 silhouette, inspired by my love for shoes and Jamaican culture. The project was part of a larger exploration of racewear for the Jamaican sprint team, considering how design can connect to the island’s identity.
The shoe embraces natural aging, with its plastics intentionally designed to yellow over time, mimicking the spine of a banana leaf. The color palette draws directly from the leaf itself, with a sky blue stripe added to reflect how banana leaves often contrast against the sky.
The project also explored sustainable design, questioning how to extend the product’s life cycle by making aging a feature rather than a flaw. Alongside the shoe, I sourced and incorporated a model of a shoebox, while the Red Stripe bottle was modelled from a physical sample, tying the presentation back to Jamaican culture.
A light, fun study in footwear design, this project was an opportunity to experiment with materials, storytelling, and cultural references through sneakers.
