Amid the Art Basel traffic, the Autry Art Station stood as a futuristic oasis that had attendees and passer-byers alike doing a double take.
Gleaming surfaces of chrome transformed the roadside pit stop into a launch site for the Rob Pruitt x Autry sneakers–a limited-edition collaboration between the renowned artist and the athleisure brand that welded the worlds of contemporary art and fashion.
In resigning its original functionality, the station immerses its audiences while inviting them to try on its showcased pieces. Finished with puffy silver laces and reflective leather, each individual pair of the 2,500 created featured Rob Pruitt’s signature on the shoes’ sides and outsoles. The signature authenticates the piece for interested collectors while also elevating the significance behind the style for fashion enthusiasts. The sneakers additionally mimic collectibles in their display and packaging, coming in a plexiglass box marked with the artist’s iconic smiley as well as transparent dust bags to conserve their wear.
“I’m drawn to outsider materials like tape, sprayed paint, glitter, and found objects. My language is direct, simple, minimal, and universal while tackling topics ranging from the light- hearted to the controversial. There is nothing more beautiful and excellent than the classic Autry sneaker, which floods me with the impulse to chrome it, to put it on a pedestal, to celebrate its nostalgia and envision it moving into the future. The ephemeral reflective effect of the mirror finished leather turns every expectation around.”
–Rob Pruitt
Rob Pruitt has extensive experience exploring the every day through a surrealistic lens, particularly in relation to Americana and popular culture. His work has been exhibited at galleries internationally and is also in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum, and the Jewish Museum. The collaboration with Pruitt was also a revival for the Autry brand, which achieved its prominence on the fashion scene in the 1980s into the 1990s. Rob Pruitt x Autry further served as a revelation of the relationships between high art, pop culture, and cultural transformation.
The launch attracted the attention of an eclectic mix of personalities from the art, fashion, and influencer worlds. For those seeking to wear or collect one of these limited-edition pieces, the Rob Pruitt x Autry sneakers are now available exclusively at autry-usa.com.
