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BESPOKE | MAY 2021

No Fear to Tread

The new Palm Angels Palm One sneaker is a distillation of a minimalist, rebel mentality.

For its No Fear to Tread project Wallpaper* reached out across the world to fearless, maverick creatives who wear the shoes... and walk their own path.

BESPOKE | MAY 2021

No Fear to Tread

The new Palm Angels Palm One sneaker is a distillation of a minimalist, rebel mentality.

For its No Fear to Tread project Wallpaper* reached out across the world to fearless, maverick creatives who wear the shoes... and walk their own path.

The quest for an absolute abstraction. A blank canvas. No frills needed. Just your own personality to express. Essential. Bold. Unique. This was the philosophy behind the creation of Palm Angels’ new sneaker: Palm One, the brand’s hero shoe for Spring/Summer 2021.
 
Conceived with the idea of designing a new wardrobe staple, an iconic item that is basic yet necessary and distinctive like a white t-shirt, the shoes clean lines, pure leather construction and solid rubber sole cast the Palm One sneaker as central to the Palm Angels wardrobe. The shoe’s optic white upper is juxtaposed to the tab, presented in a range of different bright colours and embossed with the iconic palm symbol and a golden logo on the side. No detail is left to chance. Classic, timeless and unisex, the Palm One, expresses a rebellious and dynamic spirit, freely adapting to the personalities of those who chose to wear it.
 
Exactly who are these stylistic and creative trailblazers? Teaming up for its “No Fear To Tread” project, Wallpaper* and Palm Angels invited young designers, thinkers and rule breakers from all over the world to share details of their creative processes; how they work, the city they live in and the things that inspire them. And how the blank canvas, the clean page, that divine moment of absolute abstraction, can signal the beginning of something audacious and remarkable...

Episode 1

Laureline Galliot

French designer Laureline Galliot uses digital devices to create painterly sculptures, objects and textiles, which reflect her exploration in merging colour with structure

Episode 1

Laureline Galliot

French designer Laureline Galliot uses digital devices to create painterly sculptures, objects and textiles, which reflect her exploration in merging colour with structure

Born in 1986, Galliot graduated from ENSCI Les Ateliers in 2012, following an internship at Marc Newson’s London studio. Her work is thoughtful and highly original, rethinking industrial processes, techniques and productions, and exploring the horizons opened up by digital technology such as touchscreens, 3D animation and 3D printing.She lives and works on an island near Paris.
 
Galliot’s inner rebel manifests itself in her unique way of working. In our ‘No Fear to Tread’ video she talks about experimenting with modelling and virtual colouration using her iPad as a tactile interface to reconnect the design process with manual contribution, an operation she describes as ‘like light coming from your fingers’.
Born in 1986, Galliot graduated from ENSCI Les Ateliers in 2012, following an internship at Marc Newson’s London studio. Her work is thoughtful and highly original, rethinking industrial processes, techniques and productions, and exploring the horizons opened up by digital technology such as touchscreens, 3D animation and 3D printing. She lives and works on an island near Paris.

Galliot’s inner rebel manifests itself in her unique way of working. In our ‘No Fear to Tread’ video she talks about experimenting with modelling and virtual colouration using her iPad as a tactile interface to reconnect the design process with manual contribution, an operation she describes as ‘like light coming from your fingers’.

Episode 2

Mario Tsai

Chinese designer Mario Tsai explores the limitations and possibilities of materials, adhering to sustainable principles and a self-styled soft minimalist aesthetic

Episode 2

Mario Tsai

Chinese designer Mario Tsai explores the limitations and possibilities of materials, adhering to sustainable principles and a self-styled soft minimalist aesthetic

Mario Tsai established his research-oriented studio in Hangzhou in 2014, intent on exploring material potential and new production methods while adhering to sustainable principles. Globally acknowledged for his innovative lighting and furniture design, the Beijing Forestry University graduate’s portfolio also includes branding, installation and art direction. Influenced by the Nordic design tradition, his self-styled aesthetic is ‘soft minimalism’, a warmer, more friendly and colourful approach to simplicity. 
 
‘I am always trying to find structure, to find ways to solve a problem,’ Tsai explains during the ‘No Fear to Tread’ video. ‘I try to find inspiration from my home in China and from my childhood. Some people tell me that I won‘t survive or be successful. I want to prove those people wrong.
Mario Tsai established his research-oriented studio in Hangzhou in 2014, intent on exploring material potential and new production methods while adhering to sustainable principles. Globally acknowledged for his innovative lighting and furniture design, the Beijing Forestry University graduate’s portfolio also includes branding, installation and art direction. Influenced by the Nordic design tradition, his self-styled aesthetic is ‘soft minimalism’, a warmer, more friendly and colourful approach to simplicity.
 
‘I am always trying to find structure, to find ways to solve a problem,’ Tsai explains during the ‘No Fear to Tread’ video. ‘I try to find inspiration from my home in China and from my childhood. Some people tell me that I won‘t survive or be successful. I want to prove those people wrong.’

Episode 3

Thomas Aquilina

Describing himself as an architectural designer, urban researcher and itinerant academic, Thomas Aquilina is currently based in the UK. His recent photography and film work has been exhibited in London, Cambridge, Delft, Groningen, Johannesburg and Kampala

Episode 3

Thomas Aquilina

Describing himself as an architectural designer, urban researcher and itinerant academic, Thomas Aquilina is currently based in the UK. His recent photography and film work has been exhibited in London, Cambridge, Delft, Groningen, Johannesburg and Kampala

Born in London to a Jamaican mother and a Maltese father, Thomas Aquilina’s mixed antecedence has furnished him with what he calls ‘three possible identities’. He explains, ‘My ambiguous heritage and diffuse background offer me access to places and conversations that I wouldn’t otherwise have. I have an appetite for new experiences. An architectural education equips me for divergence into many other fields.’
 
When he was awarded the RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship in 2012, Aquilina embarked on a journey of urban exploration, documenting the fabric, livelihoods and behavioural patterns of six African cities. His research involved using taxis, public transport and the back seat of motorbikes, but mainly he observed on foot. ‘Walking has become a methodological tool,’ Aquilina explains during his ‘No Fear to Tread’ interview. ‘I use walking to both read a city and write about it. Walking creates a dynamic relationship between space and time and acts as an initiation for the design process itself.’
Born in London to a Jamaican mother and a Maltese father, Thomas Aquilina’s mixed antecedence has furnished him with what he calls ‘three possible identities’. He explains, ‘My ambiguous heritage and diffuse background offer me access to places and conversations that I wouldn’t otherwise have. I have an appetite for new experiences. An architectural education equips me for divergence into many other fields.’
 
When he was awarded the RIBA Norman Foster Travelling Scholarship in 2012, Aquilina embarked on a journey of urban exploration, documenting the fabric, livelihoods and behavioural patterns of six African cities. His research involved using taxis, public transport and the back seat of motorbikes, but mainly he observed on foot. ‘Walking has become a methodological tool,’ Aquilina explains during his ‘No Fear to Tread’ interview. ‘I use walking to both read a city and write about it. Walking creates a dynamic relationship between space and time and acts as an initiation for the design process itself.’

Episode 4

Sigve Knutson

An experimental designer based in Oslo. Sigve Knutson graduated with a master’s degree in contextual design at Design Academy Eindhoven. He explores the raw, material world via his hands, tools and creative experiment.

Knutson lives and works at the edge of a vast fjord, his inspiration provided by long bike rides and vertiginous ski trips to the snowy mountaintops. Working intuitively on multidisciplinary pieces that take in ceramics, metalwork and lighting, all rendered in organic forms and friendly curves, his starting point or blank canvas is often defined by materials and tools. ‘Surprising myself is really important, too,’ he says. ‘I try to draw with a material, dig out a shape,’ he says. On a constant mission to simplify and strip down the work to its bare essentials, he ‘remixes’ ideas in his head. ‘I sample my own thoughts and experiences. It’s important that the ideas come from me – and not the internet.’

Episode 4

Sigve Knutson

An experimental designer based in Oslo. Sigve Knutson graduated with a master’s degree in contextual design at Design Academy Eindhoven. He explores the raw, material world via his hands, tools and creative experiment.

Knutson lives and works at the edge of a vast fjord, his inspiration provided by long bike rides and vertiginous ski trips to the snowy mountaintops. Working intuitively on multidisciplinary pieces that take in ceramics, metalwork and lighting, all rendered in organic forms and friendly curves, his starting point or blank canvas is often defined by materials and tools. ‘Surprising myself is really important, too,’ he says. ‘I try to draw with a material, dig out a shape,’ he says. On a constant mission to simplify and strip down the work to its bare essentials, he ‘remixes’ ideas in his head. ‘I sample my own thoughts and experiences. It’s important that the ideas come from me – and not the internet.’

Episode 5

Rachel Shillander

LLand is the building-based, art and design studio of Rachel Shillander. Born and raised in Los Angeles, where she still lives, works and practises, she was formally educated as an architect.

While she continues to pursue her architect’s licence, Shillander’s San Fernando Valley studio focuses on both architecture and the objectification of its construction systems into functional maquettes. LLand explores the concepts of architectural ethics, place, material, time, the human condition, and how they inform one another for the sake of quality.
 
Working almost exclusively with architectural materials (Shillander’s blank canvas tends to be stone, tiles, wood, stucco or brick), her recent creations include the Flintstone-esque ‘Disco’ chair – made of concrete formed over an inflatable and inlaid with myriad mirror tiles – and a series of ‘Santa Monica Mountains Stone Masonry’ lamps. ‘For this project I spent months hiking the mountains, collecting rocks and developing the idea of critical regionalism – an emotional connection to the rock forms and tectonics. These lamps,’ she says, ‘belong to the mountains.’

Episode 5

Rachel Shillander

LLand is the building-based, art and design studio of Rachel Shillander. Born and raised in Los Angeles, where she still lives, works and practises, she was formally educated as an architect.

While she continues to pursue her architect’s licence, Shillander’s San Fernando Valley studio focuses on both architecture and the objectification of its construction systems into functional maquettes. LLand explores the concepts of architectural ethics, place, material, time, the human condition, and how they inform one another for the sake of quality.
 
Working almost exclusively with architectural materials (Shillander’s blank canvas tends to be stone, tiles, wood, stucco or brick), her recent creations include the Flintstone-esque ‘Disco’ chair – made of concrete formed over an inflatable and inlaid with myriad mirror tiles – and a series of ‘Santa Monica Mountains Stone Masonry’ lamps. ‘For this project I spent months hiking the mountains, collecting rocks and developing the idea of critical regionalism – an emotional connection to the rock forms and tectonics. These lamps,’ she says, ‘belong to the mountains.’
Simon Mills
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