SockDart Generation creators: Laro Vilas Boas

To illustrate the international project curated by nss factory for the launch of the new Nike Sock Dart, we contacted talented Portuguese artist Laro Vilas Boas, whose work focuses on everything that makes a sneakerhead lose his mind.

Sneakers and streetwear are the privileged subjects of his artworks, that he likes to decorate with its distinctive 'drop style', liquid drops falling freely on the fabrics of the most hype items of the season.

Read our interview with the artist below:

#1 Why did you choose the drop style for your artworks? Tell us more about it.
I wanted to do something related with streetwear photos for a while, @peste challenged me to illustrate Highsnobiety's Snobshots. My wish was to create an element that would simply adapt to any kind of material, shape or colour. I've named it #hypermatter, an alive material that would take part of the body of the host and then develop to the clothes, it became a mutant liquid invading the dopest outfits through the web.

#2 Which is your favourite point of the Sock Dart Manifesto and why?
Sock Dart is Aesthetic. The Sock Dart is such a beautiful and unique shoe. I love how the different materials get together, the silicone rubber forefoot strap, the soft texture of the "sock" adapting perfectly to your foot, the shining toecap, that detail in the back of the shoe. So many different elements create a perfect harmony, the technology, the innovation, everything about it creates a one of a kind aesthetic.

#3 Which are your main inspirations for your artworks? Is there an artist you would like to collaborate with/particularly admire?

Everything influences my work, but if I think about it I think that internet is my main influence, my work is often the reflection of something that happened a few hours before, a comment I saw, a collab that dropped or a sneaker that everyone is looking for or simply the first world problems of an hypebeast. The list of artists that I would love to work with grows everyday, but at the moment I'm in love with the work of @vagab, Kim Jungyoun, he has exceptional skills, the drawings are beautiful, the way he controls the colours, and the love for Jordans and clothing is amazing, above it all the themes are always so simple and so deep, you got check his work, I'm definitely a huge fan.