Sneaker News 
He’s blessed the game with many iconic collaborations. In Volume Three of Sneaker News magazine, he describes his favorites in brilliant detail. But one story from our interview truly stands out. Read about “La Diva” here and pick up Volume Three for the behind-the-scenes secrets of DJ Clark Kent, one of the sneaker world’s all-time greats.
Nike Air Force 1 Bespoke “La Diva”
by DJ Clark Kent as told to Steve Caputo
Mau from Nike Bespoke Lab at 21 Mercer—make sure you give him a shoutout, @itsbobrose—called me and was like, “Hey man, I want to talk to you about some new materials for Bespoke.” It was common for him to call because I helped set up Bespoke.
When I got there, he was like, “Let’s go sit somewhere else. I don’t want anyone to know what we’re doing.” We went through some materials. Then he handed me a box with a Panamanian flag on top and was like, “Check these out.”
When I pulled the shoe out, I saw a picture of my mom on the back. It was over at that point. This was after my mom had passed, and it was a memorial to my mom.
Left: Mau presents the Air Force 1 Bespoke “La Diva” to DJ Clark Kent for the first time.
Mau had really paid attention to the things I’d said about my mom, to him and on Instagram. Her favorite color is yellow. Her favorite thing to do is needlepoint, so the inside of the shoe looks like needlepoint, and if you look on the inside, there’s a needle with a thread coming through it.
It’s my favorite sneaker of all time. And for him to do something that said, I feel what you’re going through, maybe this will brighten your day, that meant everything. It was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever done for me. When my mom passed, she had been sick for a while, and I was strong through the whole thing. That was the only moment since my mom passed that I got choked up. I could design shoes the rest of my life—this would be my favorite of all time.
It’s called “La Diva” because my mom was a famous opera singer, which was part of my musical influence. She was very stylish, always dressed well. That’s another influence. She was very meticulous, and when I design I’m like that, when I produce I’m like that, when I DJ I’m like that. Down to the stitches you can’t see, know what I’m saying? Do your best to make it the best, all the time. I got that from her.
To read more of DJ Clark Kent’s behind-the-scenes secrets, pick up Volume Three of Sneaker News magazine here. Follow @sneakernewsmag for exclusive updates.
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