Fancy Footwork

THE PARTY D.C.’s booming Shaw neighborhood introduced its latest retail addition with a vibrant party at Bucketfeet’s new 8th Street store. The Chicago-based footwear brand invited guests to mingle with founders Raaja Nemani and Aaron Firestein, as well as other art enthusiasts while taking in the modern, gallery-like space designed by New York firm M Crown. The event also provided a first glimpse of local artist MasPaz’s custom graphic mural, an appropriate touch for a company founded on a business model that supports artistic communities around the world. RSVP Catering provided whimsical bites, like truffle mac & cheese tarts and miniature chicken and waffles, for party-goers to snack on while shopping the store’s extensive collection.

THE PEOPLE Local celebrities such as restaurant pioneer Nora Pouillon and blogger Alexandra Tallulah Dawson welcomed the new store to town, while members of the Bucketfeet team – including founders Nemani and Firestein, Director of Studios Laura Suh and Bucktown manager Catie Clark – chatted with guests about the featured designs.

BEST IN SHOW Bucketfeet offers so much more than a traditional shoe store, with custom lace-up sneakers in prints designed by over 40,000 artists in over 120 countries. Artists receive royalties for their accepted designs, which are voted on by the Buckeetfeet team and an online audience. Guests at the grand opening were able to shop from the latest sneaker collection which included designs in screenprints, embossing, leather and canvas.

Photography by Kaz Sasahara