Erik Hernandez
Three KS logo directions, a badge, a striped shield and a crowned wordmark, over a grey field of earlier logo explorations.

KS Classic

The white KS Classic above its mirror image, showing the five stripes carried onto a slimmer vulcanized profile.
Tech drawings of the KS Classic, side, heel and top, with a grid-pattern sockliner marked Classic, beside the white canvas sample.
Outsole blueprint for the KS Classic with cross sections, sidewalls and a herringbone tread around a KS shield, above three outsoles in gum, yellow-green and purple.
Three KS Classics in white, grey suede and black suede, each with a colored heel tab.
A skater riding a cruiser board in grey KS Classics, motion-blurred, beside a close-up of a skater in black suede KS Classics.

HWD Mid & Low

Twenty pencil sketches of the HWD in side and perspective views, exploring collar straps, stripes and toe caps, with the final HWD Mid in the third row.
Tech drawings of the HWD Mid, side, heel, top and collar strap, beside the black sample from the back with its strap pulled up.
The neon yellow herringbone outsole of the HWD beside its blueprint, a grey herringbone tread with a neon yellow band, a KS shield and tread details.
Three HWD Mids in black, blue patent and grey suede.
The black HWD Mid from the side, with suede and leather panels, a collar strap with a KS shield and a neon yellow lace.
Heels of the black, blue and grey HWD Mids, each with a colored heel badge.
Close-up of the neon yellow tread with Cultivated in Los Angeles molded into the sole.
A skater airborne in front of Los Angeles City Hall in the black HWD Mid, beside a skater sitting on a wall in the black and blue HWD Mid.
A pair of black HWD Mids with neon yellow stitching set on river stones, beside purple and black HWD Lows on a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
A purple and grey HWD Mid worn on a balcony rail, and a pair of grey HWD Mids worn on a step beside a skateboard with K-Swiss stickers.

CA Classic Mid & Low

Pencil sketches of the CA Classic in side and perspective views, low and mid, above the navy, olive and black lows.
Tech drawings of the CA Classic Mid, side, heel, top and tongue, beside the brown canvas sample with a leather collar.
Three CA Classic Mids in black, olive and navy.
The CA Classic low in navy canvas with a brown leather collar.
Three CA Classic lows in navy, olive with a yellow collar, and black.

Mid-City Low & Boot

Render of the Mid-City Low in grey-brown suede with orange stripes and a brown leather heel.
Tech drawings of the Mid-City Low, side, heel and top, beside the black leather and grey suede samples.
The Mid-City Low in grey suede with a brown leather collar and heel and a white sole.
Line drawings of the Mid-City Boot, a fold-down suede boot, testing pull tabs, zips and shield placements, with the olive sample in place of one drawing.
Render of the Mid-City Boot in grey with a magenta pull tab and magenta stitched stripes.
Tech drawings of the Mid-City Boot, side, heel and top, beside three boots in olive, black and plum.
The Mid-City Boot in olive suede with a magenta pull tab, magenta stitched stripes and a magenta sole line.
A plum Mid-City Boot worn against a white wall, beside a plum Fair Isle Mid-City Boot worn with legs crossed in a dark lodge.

Brief

Build KS, a youth line for K-Swiss rooted in Los Angeles: its own identity, a story tied to the city, and a set of vulcanized and casual styles that carried K-Swiss DNA to a younger, skate-leaning customer.

Process

The line started with a KS logo direction built from the K-Swiss shield and styles named for Los Angeles neighborhoods. Each family reworked a K-Swiss signature: the KS Classic put the five stripes on a vulcanized sole, the HWD added a collar strap and a neon outsole molded with Cultivated in Los Angeles, the CA Classic and Mid-City moved the stripes into stitching on canvas and suede, and the Mid-City Boot folded the same stripes into a soft suede boot. The line ran through two seasons, with Q4 adding new colorways and Fair Isle knit boots.