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Footballers are often defined by individuality based on their playing styles, characters and lifestyle off the pitch.
They can also be set apart by the most important piece of equipment to any professional - their boots.
Specific football boots worn by distinctive players have elevated certain brands to worldwide fame.
Wayne Rooney epitomised the Nike T90s, Neymar’s trickery with the Nike Mercurials and Sergio Aguero dazzled with the Puma evoSPEED.
London-based artist Jordan Dawson has taken football boots individuality to the next level through customising boots for footballing stars such as Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez.
His iconic designs have included a South Korean inspired boot for Spurs captain Heung-min Son and a Naruto style pair of boots for former teammate Dele Alli.
London-based artist Jordan Dawson has taken football boots individuality to the next level
Man United outcast Marcus Rashford has had his boots customised by the London designer
Dawson’s first gained media attention when his debut client Declan Rice shared Dawson’s work on social media during his time at West Ham.
The publicity led to commissions for Rice’s teammates, former players and eventually international football stars.
Dawson began his artistic career studying at the Chelsea College of Arts where he worked on a hyperrealist drawing of Conor McGregor in 2017.
The portrait won him Young Artist of the Year at the National Open Art Awards, proving to be turning point in his creative career.
After graduating, Dawson proceeded to work at Niketown London where he began to hone his craft, wanting to create rather than sell sneakers.
Dawson proceeded to pitch his ideas to Nike HQ which developed into creating digital designs for the 2018 Nike London Air Force One campaign, collaborating with the likes of Mason Mount and Phil Foden.
The artist’s work has even entered the video game domain as Dawson was invited to design the FIFA 20 Volta pitch alongside boxing heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
Dawson also teamed up with Puma to customise limited-edition boots in aid of UNICEF’s Soccer Aid for world 100m champion Usain Bolt and former AC Milan striker Andriy Shevchenko.
Bryan Mbeumo, who looks likely to join Manchester United this summer, is a happy customer
Dele Alli, who currently plays for Italian side Como, received a customised Naruto pair of boots
Dawson’s first gained media attention when his debut client Declan Rice shared his work online
His work extends to creating bespoke boots for world-class players such as Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, Barcelona’s Raphinha and Italy’s No.1 Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Players reach out to Dawson via Instagram or WhatsApp requesting specific personal designs, whilst he also attracts brand partnerships with the likes of Nike, Adidas and Puma.
Dawson revealed that he is currently speaking to Sporting’s Victor Gyokeres, Manchester United’s Amad Diallo, former Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen.
Dawson’s portfolio extends outside of football which includes painting cars for Red Bull and custom basketballs for the NBA.
Whether it is designing within football or other ventures, Dawson seeks to ‘push the limits of creativity.’
For Dawson, ‘it’s always about telling a story through the work.’
