I designed and built a custom sneaker using unconventional materials—racing sail fabric and mylar—to match a Mortal Kombat Halloween costume on a tight deadline.
When I bought a DIY sneaker kit, I quickly realized copying an existing design wasn't interesting. Instead, I used the sole and last as a foundation to design my own shoe—one that nods to classic silhouettes but with completely original panel shapes, materials, and construction details.
The project started with a challenge: my homemade Sektor (Mortal Kombat 3) Halloween costume used black and red upcycled racing sail fabric that didn't match any shoes I owned. Rather than compromise, I decided to make a custom pair using the same unconventional material. Racing sail and mylar don't stretch like leather, which made lasting especially difficult—even with heat guns and lasting pliers, the material fought back at every step.
I tape-drafted the pattern directly on the shoe last, flattened it into 2D components, then cut and assembled the panels on my post-bed industrial sewing machine. After constructing the upper, I hand-lasted it to the sole using traditional shoe construction techniques: nailing, stretching, gluing, and final stitching. The whole process—from initial pattern to finished shoe—happened in a few weeks, just in time for the Halloween deadline.
The result is a fully functional custom sneaker that matches my costume perfectly and proves that with the right approach, you can make footwear from materials shoes were never designed to use.