Sneaker collaboration have become a monotonous hype cycle but one shoe stood out for its unexpected break into the mainstream. The Rakeem Miles x K-Swiss “Get Me Out The Woods” took over our feed and had the discord server buzzing, his partnership with K-Swiss was an organic evolution sparked by a casual conversation that quickly turned into a full-fledged creative project. Having grown up in the sneaker space and influenced by the likes of Allen Iverson and Pharrell’s work with Ice Cream and Billionaire Boys Club, Rakeem already had a deep connection to sneaker culture. But it wasn’t until a joking question from Samir : “Yo, would you ever want to come over to K-Swiss?”, that his new chapter began.
What followed was a process of exploration, experimentation, and genuine collaboration, bridging his past experiences with some fresh ideas. From pitching the concepts to reimagining silhouettes, to then building the narrative around the “Get Me Out the Woods” series, Rakeem’s journey offers a rare glimpse into how a sneaker collaboration comes to life, from inspiration to execution, and from somewhere organic that didn’t need any influencer clout or huge marketing budget.
How did the conversation start with K-Swiss?
So it all happened pretty organically. I met Sameer but at the time, I was already working with Reebok and in talks with them about a collaboration. I used to wear them a lot growing up and when Pharrell was over there doing the Ice Creams and Billionaire Boys Club, it was a big influence for me. We were regularly chopping it up and he jokingly asked, “Yo, would you ever want to come over to K-Swiss?” The more I thought about it “Yeah, I would.” I didn’t really know what was happening with my situation at Reebok. The team who was spearheading my project over there had just left, so things were kind of up in the air. I wasn’t sure if my shoe collaboration was still moving forward and I grew up on K-Swiss it just makes sense.
So I told him, “It’d be dope to come over to K-Swiss.” I already had history with the brand anyway, I used to wear K-Swiss as a kid. It was huge growing up, especially in the Black community. Once that door opened, the question was: what happens next? Do I come in with silhouettes I want to work on? Do we go through the archives? How does that joking moment turn into an actual collaboration? A few months later, Samir invited me to their sales meeting to see how it all unfolds. That’s where I met Barney for the first time. They were super busy, those sales meetings are full of people, so it wasn’t really the right time to shoot my pitch. I had sent over a deck that same day, but they were in the middle of launches and talking to so many people, so I just enjoyed the day and allowed the dust to settle.
It was a short while later, Samir sent me a photo of Barney looking over the deck back in the office. I got the update that they was interested, and we set up a call. On that call, I laid out everything, my story, my background, what I’d done with other brands before, my vision for K-Swiss. Barney was excited. Sameer was excited. It all made sense. Not long after, Barney got back to me, maybe a month or so later, and said, “Let’s do it.” Then Ayin and Samir reached out to confirm, and that’s when we officially started working on the shoe. That’s also when I began collaborating with Ruby on the design side.
From here how did the design process work especially creating your own silhouette?
Ruby made the whole process pretty simply. I took my favourite design that I had been developing with Reebok and shared that idea with the K-Swiss team. It was padded out and had the creative direction sorted so then it came on how to execute. Around that time, I’d seen a silhouette they were working on called the RMX. It was good but there was something missing, then further down I spotted the sole of the Marina. I turned to them and was wondering if theres something we could do with both. I remember saying, “Can we take the bottom from this one and the upper from that other model?” And they were like, “Yeah, let’s do it.” rom there, Ruby took my design and completely reworked it. She reimagined everything and cleaned it up and brought it all together, that’s really how the final shoe came to life.
The first shoe sold out incredibly fast, did you expect the demand?
Honestly, it was intentional. Limiting the quantity creates higher demand, but it was also because it was technically a friends-and-family launch. The goal wasn’t mass production, it was about visibility and testing what a partnership between me and K-Swiss could look like. They wanted to take it slow and see how it resonated before going bigger. That first drop made waves/. The media buzz was wild, I’ve known K-Swiss for years, but that was the first time I’d seen the brand really cross into our space like that. The storytelling, the visuals, everything clicked and I could see the reception.
Thinking back… Did I expect it to take off the way it did? Not at all. I knew it was going to do well, but I didn’t expect it to blow up like that on Nice Kicks. You don’t usually see posts get that much love, and seeing all those positive comments was dope. Usually, there’s a mix of love and criticism, but this time people were genuinely feeling it. Some were just discovering me for the first time, like “Yo, who is this?” But even then, they were saying, “This shoe is fire.” I think it hit that perfect middle ground, chunky and performance-inspired, but still lifestyle-ready. It gave K-Swiss a new energy and a fresh look that connected with a broader audience.
How hands on are you in the process, collaboration can seem like a dark art but it sounds like you had input throughout?
As far as creative direction, I was super hands-on. The original concept came from me and my illustrator, Ray, he’s my main guy for anything graphics. I told him exactly how I wanted the shoe to look: it had to include my Ghillie Suit character. He brought that design to life exactly how I envisioned it. Then, when I transitioned the idea to K-Swiss, I showed Ruby that same concept, the character climbing over the shoe, and said, “Let’s place it on this new upper and sole that people haven’t seen before.” It ended up being something fresh, not just for K-Swiss, but for sneaker culture as a whole.
On top of that, I design myself too. When it comes to creating the CADs or doing the actual illustrations, that’s me. The third shoe is actually fully designed by me, while the first and second “the Get Me Out the Woods” pairs, were more of a 50/50 collaboration. Now we’re on the second shoe, which uses the same silhouette but comes in more of a beige, cream-white colorway. It’s part of a three-part series that tells one continuous story. The first one introduced “Get Me Out the Woods” now the second one is more of a prequel, explaining how I ended up there in the first place.
After the first shoe how did the second pair come about?
Well, this was all part of the plan. From the very beginning, the K-Swiss team envisioned the collaboration as more than just a single drop, it was meant to be a story. The first release, Get Me Out the Woods, introduced the concept and set the tone, but the second shoe was designed to dig deeper, acting almost like a prequel that explained the journey leading up to that moment. Every detail, from the colourway to the silhouette tweaks is intentional, building on the original idea while expanding the narrative. Pushing the design forward and making the silhouette my own, and giving fans a chance to experience the world I am building around the collaboration.
How is the roll out for the second shoe planned?
We’re actually shooting the commercial for it this weekend, and it’s going to be pretty wild. I play a DJ, and if you’ve ever seen Pootie Tang, you’ll get the vibe. It’s got that comedic, surreal energy. The scene opens with me DJing at this crazy event; the crowd’s going wild, I’ve got the full ghillie suit on, I hold the shoe up in the air, and everyone just loses their minds. People start passing out, chaos everywhere.
Then I get a FaceTime call from Donnell Rawlings, from Dave Chappelle’s camp, who’s like “Yo, I can’t make it to the event.” We’re joking around, and right after that call, I get knocked out near the woods. The next thing you see is me being dragged into the woods, and that’s where the story starts. This new shoe tells how I ended up there. I wanted it to feel cinematic, because I think that’s something K-Swiss hasn’t really had before, that creative storytelling angle. It’s not just about dropping a shoe; it’s about building a world around it. That’s what I wanted to bring, an emotional and visual arc that people can follow and invest in. The first shoe told my story, what “Get Me Out the Woods” means to me, my background, and where I come from. This second release sets the stage for that. It’s like the prequel that explains everything.
The second shoe’s nearly here, the third one’s on the way. Are there any other areas you’re interested in exploring?
Definitely apparel, for sure. I think it’d be dope to bring my vision to K-Swiss on the clothing side, to build out something that blends lifestyle and sport. They’ve got a solid foundation with performance and on-court tennis gear, but I think there’s a big opportunity for something more streetwear-driven, something people can wear day-to-day. If they could bring back that 90s tennis aesthetic, the oversized baggy shorts, the knit sweaters, that’d go crazy right now. A refined, vintage take on that era would absolutely hit in today’s climate.
I mentioned that to Samir when I saw him in Paris, and he was all for it. That’s the direction I’d love to explore, something that taps into K-Swiss’s tennis heritage but reinterprets it through a modern lifestyle lens. An apparel line that bridges their archive with the present, that’s the kind of story people want to see. I should probably start working on that soon because it’s been on my mind…
