By Willie Gordon Suting
Shoe and clothes painting has emerged as a vibrant art form today. Urban subcultures impact on youths and they want metal and hip hop artworks painted in what they wear. Part of urban youth narratives where they freely express their tastes, Shillong also has prominent shoe and clothing artists.
The underground metal and hip hop scene in Shillong is one overshadowed by the mainstream. It is in rap and dance battles that the subculture congregates as a community. And identity finds expression in clothing and shoes.
Two shops in the city — OB Customs in Nongthymmai and Art O Feet in Police Bazar — cater to this trend. Artists Obadaya Suchiang, Poonam Goyal, Grofield Nonglait and Wanshuwa ‘Fair’ Mylliemngap are pioneers in the art of shoe and clothes painting.
Suchiang, as a four year old, started making and designing toys, and then went into painting till the age of 25 after his post graduate. With completing only a crash course in Graphics and Web Design from Arena Animation, he felt he had to prove more practically.
Suchiang uses acrylic paints, mostly purchased from abroad to paint on plain clothing and shoes. The plain clothing and shoes are bought from wholesellers outside Shillong. With young recruited artists Susana Marbaniang, Zanareen Mary Lakiang, Batskhem Ryngad, Krai Suchiang and Returnwell Sutong, he handles different customised orders. “We specialise in customise art taking inputs from customers. We get approximately 200 orders a month”, says Suchiang. The shoes and denim jackets start from Rs 1,500, which are displayed in the shop.
Suchiang has a snazzy and ribald aesthetic language. He uses mostly bright hues to accentuate borders and patterns. It is conspicuous his animated portraitures carry forth exuberant vibes of hip hop melodies and metal symbology.
Goyal, Nonglait and Fair are part of a global collaborative process between Vans Shoes and local artists. Vans recruits top shoe artists from round the globe for its customised shoes.
“Vans is an international company which is famous for its custom culture of shoe painting. They provide with one of the best quality shoe fabrics to be painted on,” says Goyal. The shoes come at Rs 3,000 starting price, with each uniquely painted for the wearer. No two shoes are painted the same.
Goyal is the head artist, designer and founder of Art O Feet, who also handles marketing and finance of the products. Art O Feet is part of Desire showroom headed by her brother. Fair has visions of a painter who can stretch his ideas from tribal art to popular culture images reminiscent of the 50s. Like Goyal, he has an eye for right colours at the right spots. Goyal’s repertoire is akin to graphic designs with keen observation of shading and exuding of moods.
“Depending on the requirements, some of the paints are imported from overseas while some are available in India itself. Prices for the paints are not very expensive as per international markets. On an average we charge Rs 1,000 for the paint averagely and charge more accordingly to the designs,” she says.
Fair says there’s no specific theme or design as customers have different tastes and preferences. “Their feedback is simple and clear. I keep getting repetitive orders from my clients because of the product we deliver,” says Goyal.
As CEO and Co-Founder of OB Customs, Suchiang says the primary focus is how the team creates their brand. “We are trying to do things which are very unique. We want to expand this business in many ways so that our youths will not go unemployed”.
OB Customs, established in 2017, makes approximately Rs 20,000 monthly, and desires full customer satisfaction. Using Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator, and then painting with acrylic paints, Suchiang says the products are highly durable and are all washable. “However, one has to wash them like soft clothes and not with harsh detergents,” he adds. Fair explains, “Durability depends on how you wear them and how one takes care of them. However, avoid wearing them on rainy days and rough terrains.”
Suchiang’s customers usually go for doodle art, street art and graffiti designs while Goyal’s customers love The Pirates of the Caribbean and Johnny Depp portraits. Suchiang elucidates that though it looks all too easy, yet “free hand with no machine involved is very tough. Depending on the design the customers provide, if they’re simple we can finish it in no time, but for others it takes 3 to 4 days per design to complete.”
Fair says it is not just rough outlines with a pencil, but also paints and brushes. “A simple design usually takes 2 to 3 days but designs with more details and colours take about a week.”
Suchiang, looking back, says it is good that the underground hip hop scene in Shillong is growing. “But the percentage of them finding a niche market is very low, so they need to come up with something innovative for further exposure, and get support from sponsors.”
When asked her message to young budding artists, Goyal says, “Years back, art was confined to canvas and paper. Now, one can be a street artist, a shoe artist or a fabric artist. So the trick is to never restrict yourself. Go beyond the edge. Fly to find your true talent and passion. The whole universe is the limit.”
Fair agrees saying, “Hard work, practice, and research to explore new ideas is key for any artist”.