Poshampa's sneakers offer the kitschy update that your wardrobe needs

Poshampa's vibrant, hand-painted sneakers are basically the street style line-up your wardrobe is screaming for
Hand-painted sneakers from Poshampas Banno bridal series
Hand-painted sneakers from Poshampas Banno bridal series

If you haven’t come across Poshampa’s pop coloured hand-painted sneakers on your Instagram timeline, you may not be keeping up with the right names. The Delhi-based footwear label is offering up a loud and proud range of funky, cheerful sneakers, featuring sassy Hindi one-liners, pop culture symbols, and the freshest neon accents. The mind behind Poshampa’s impressive line-up is Garima Arya, a trained visual art graduate from the College of Arts, Delhi, who focuses on creating and promoting original art through the customised handcrafted shoe brand.

<em>Frida Kahlo sneakers by Poshampa</em>
Frida Kahlo sneakers by Poshampa

“Wearable art has always been an expensive affair, a rich man's indulgence. I founded Poshampa in 2017 to realize my dream of making original, quirky fashion easily accessible to everyone as not everyone can afford original art. I buy plain canvas shoes and use acrylic, fabric paints, sequins, ribbons, etc to give them a funky look,” Garima tells us. The designer has made shoes for names like actors Harleen Sethi and Vikram Kochhar. In fact, just this month, the designer released a line of festive, baroque-inspired Vans sneakers in collaboration with acclaimed menswear designer Param Sahib. But Poshampa’s biggest hits are definitely the bold and fun bridal sneakers which are easy to wear and obviously a rebellious fashion move.

<em>A pair of painted sneakers from the Poshampa X Param Sahib range</em>
A pair of painted sneakers from the Poshampa X Param Sahib range

“The Banno bridal series was very successful actually; a friend of mine was getting married and she wanted to have fun at her wedding, and it's hard for brides to have a good time in heels. She asked me to paint a pair of sneakers, and I gave her a number of painted options, and she chose one. And now they have taken off; at times we match the base of the sneakers with the lehenga the bride is wearing on the day, so it looks good. In fact, I made shoes for a Christian wedding (with ‘here comes the bride’ painted on them), and recently for a Nepali bride, where I incorporated some traditional customs into the artwork," Garima reveals.

<em>A bride poses with her Poshampa sneakers</em>
A bride poses with her Poshampa sneakers

But what won us over about Poshampa’s pieces are the kitschy and adventurous spirit of the designs - from Rihanna lyrics to PUBG-themed sneakers, you’ll find anything and everything that’s relevant now. We even discovered a pair of sneakers painted with a Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) quote from Sacred Games! Some of her more ambitious pieces are homages to modern artists like Van Gogh and Frieda Kahlo, which have obviously found a niche customer base. Garima reveals that her buyer’s list is quite diverse, as people between 18 to 40 are going for her sneakers, and she’s even getting requests for painting kid’s sneakers. Poshampa’s sneakers are not just easy in spirit but also in its budget, as the label’s line-up is superbly economical. A pair of Poshampa’s sneakers can cost you anything between Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,500, and you can place an order on their Instagram and Facebook pages.

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