00:00 Clay Thompson is ready to make a splash for the Golden State Warriors in the new NBA season.
00:07 Fans can't wait for Clay to shoot the lights out with a new signature basketball shoe.
00:13 Dwayne Lawrence, the signed director for ANTA Basketball, joins us now for more on the KT9.
00:21 He lives in Chamin, flew all the way here to Manila for this exclusive interview.
00:27 Hey Dwayne, thank you so much for joining us.
00:30 Thank you, thanks for having me.
00:31 Alright, so tell us about the KT9.
00:35 What was the inspiration for this shoe, which Clay Thompson will be wearing throughout the new NBA season?
00:43 Yeah, so if you follow Clay Thompson, you know that he's taken on this idea of Captain Clay.
00:48 So the KT9 kind of captures his step into that leadership role as now a veteran on the Warriors.
00:58 Also, he really is a captain. He's got his own boat that he's been sailing now for the last couple of years.
01:04 That guy loves the water.
01:05 He loves the water. Clay loves the water.
01:07 So we tried to capture some elements that kind of go along with that.
01:11 So you asked me about the inspiration for the KT9.
01:13 So when you look at the KT9, the upper is actually inspired by the cables on a bridge.
01:19 So you see the vertical lines kind of represent the structural construction of a bridge.
01:25 Of the Golden State Bridge.
01:26 Of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge.
01:28 So both of which he passes on his way when he rides to the Chase Center.
01:33 And how many colorways of the KT9 will Clay Thompson be wearing throughout this 82-game season?
01:43 We love doing a lot of colorways. So we're probably going to do anywhere from 25 to 30 colorways.
01:47 Wow.
01:48 All planned out for different games. Some of them will be limited releases.
01:55 And some of them will be more mass-market releases.
01:58 And you have here with you a limited release of the KT9. Tell us about it.
02:04 So this one's called the Captain's Log colorway.
02:07 So the colors themselves are inspired by the Captain's hat.
02:12 The shiny black plastic and then the white fabric.
02:16 And instead of the structural elements, what we did was we took all his captions from his Instagram and laser etched them onto the leather.
02:25 All his captions on that shoe.
02:28 These are all his thoughts.
02:30 And you know, we were talking earlier, you went to the Clay Day return game.
02:34 Somewhere on there, his caption from that game is on here too.
02:38 And Clay was here from August 31st to September 1st and everyone was crazy.
02:45 Going crazy.
02:46 He was here in the Philippines together with Kevon Looney.
02:51 But before his trip to Manila, he was in China.
02:55 He was in China, yeah.
02:56 I mean, he checked out basically all these colorways.
02:59 How is it like working with Clay, Dwayne?
03:02 Working with Clay is pretty easy.
03:04 He likes to keep it simple.
03:06 So he likes things fresh and clean.
03:13 So we just listen to him, whether it's a fit concern, whether it's the way the shoe plays, whether it's how it looks.
03:21 But we just listen to him.
03:22 I observe him.
03:23 I watch every post game interview.
03:24 I read every article.
03:26 You really have to do your own research.
03:28 I got to do my own research.
03:29 And observe the man.
03:30 Yeah.
03:31 And if I get a chance to sit down with him, just talk to him about what's going on in his life.
03:35 And that's how we came up with the fact that he's fallen in love with boating and everything.
03:39 Wow, that's fantastic.
03:40 He's involved in the whole process.
03:43 Absolutely.
03:44 Whether he knows it or not.
03:45 Whether he knows it or not.
03:46 And what about you, Dwayne?
03:48 How long does it take for you to design all of these colorways?
03:54 Well, the whole process probably takes about a year, anyway, from a year to 18 months.
04:01 So even before the end of this season, you're already planning for the next season.
04:06 Oh, yeah.
04:07 Yeah.
04:08 So before the 8th, these are the 8th, before the 8th was done, we were working on the 9th.
04:12 And that's how it kind of rose.
04:14 And then the colorways are just one part of that process, towards the end.
04:17 Once he's confirmed it, once he's tried it on, and everything checks out from a performance standpoint,
04:22 then we get into the materials and colors.
04:25 Tell us, how different is the KT8, which you wore in the previous season, to the new KT9s?
04:33 So, they're not terribly different, although this one, one of my goals was to make it a little bit sleeker,
04:39 a little bit more lightweight, and improve on the fit.
04:42 So this is just feedback that I'll get from players.
04:45 And we talked to some players today about which one fits better in their opinion.
04:50 And so we'll take that type of feedback, and really it's just an enhancement of the first concept,
04:57 just try to take what we did well, just do it a little bit better, and what we didn't do so well, just try to improve on that.
05:03 Any new innovations that you have introduced in the KT9 that is different from the KT8?
05:12 Well, I will say one thing about the KT8, one innovation that we had was,
05:17 you have the option to choose whether you want to wear it as a high top or a low top, right?
05:21 So if I just do this, a snap that, all of a sudden now it becomes a low top.
05:26 So fit was important for Klay, he likes to wear low tops and mids, but sometimes the market requests a high top.
05:32 So that was one way we solved that issue.
05:34 With this, we have a similar solution where this boat shoe detail here can help you tighten the whole lacing system,
05:44 and that's how we, was one way we improved the fit.
05:47 And of course, in the NBA and in global leagues, Klay Thompson, Steph Curry, and all the other NBA stars play a lot of games,
05:59 a lot of wear and tear on their foot.
06:03 How improved right now is the basketball shoe technology for the players to mitigate injury through the season?
06:13 Yeah, I think there's been a big push in recent years to improve cushioning and have cushioning be a little bit more long lasting,
06:21 and have cushioning be a little bit more responsive, because you're talking about 200 plus pound guys, right?
06:27 Seven footers.
06:29 Seven, seven, four, they're getting bigger, right?
06:31 But Banyama.
06:32 Yeah, they're getting bigger.
06:33 So, you know, over the course of the season, well, luckily for them, they don't have to play in their shoes that long.
06:39 They might change them out every two to three games, but the shoes have to be able to respond to those forces right away.
06:46 So I think with cushioning, with upper materials, being able to fit better and breathe more so that the foot can perform,
06:54 has been some of the ways that the industry as a whole has attacked giving guys a longer life.
07:00 You are the design director for footwear of ANTA Basketball.
07:04 I'm sure you just haven't designed just the KTs.
07:08 How many more ANTA Basketball kicks have you designed?
07:14 With just basketball over the years, probably seven or eight models.
07:16 So I did KT 8, 9, Gordon Hayward, GH2 and GH3, some of the KT takedown models, as well as one of our outdoor streetball models.
07:28 So it's fun to mix it up, go from different price points and different.
07:32 Where do you get your inspiration for designing all of these different types of shoes?
07:36 Of course, you speak to Clay a lot. You pick his brains.
07:41 But what about the other designs? Where do you get inspiration to be able to make them?
07:47 So in some of those other designs, it comes down to the game, right?
07:51 Whether it's a performance benefit that we want to deliver.
07:54 So if it's a better fit or breathability or better traction, lightweight, stuff like that.
08:01 So from there, inspiration can come from anywhere.
08:04 Designers will always say we try to be a sponge of our environment.
08:07 So if it's bridges or architecture or nature, there's inspiration hanging around everywhere.
08:13 And how did you get into designing basketball shoes or shoes in general?
08:18 It's a great job.
08:21 You love your job.
08:22 I love it. I've always been an artistic kid. I was the kid in class that was always drawing.
08:27 And then just being a young guy growing up, loving sneakers.
08:33 I put the two together one day, drew a sneaker, and that was it.
08:35 Everything I wanted to do, every decision I made was based on that.
08:39 The school I went to and everything was based on how can I become a shoe designer.
08:45 You're an artist.
08:46 Yeah, late '90s, early 2000s, where the industry was, the shoes that were being made were so inspiring.
08:53 So every day, you just look at sneaker magazines and just get new ideas.
08:58 And you know, Dwayne, you visited the Philippines a few times.
09:01 You've seen that this is a basketball-crazy country.
09:04 If you can design a Filipino-inspired shoe or colorway, what would it look like?
09:12 It would have to do something with the traffic in Manila.
09:15 What is the name of the bus?
09:18 This is EDSA, the main thoroughfare.
09:20 The small bus, the really--
09:22 The jeepney.
09:23 Yeah, that would be a cool colorway.
09:27 Well, we're looking forward to that colorway very soon from design director Dwayne Lawrence.
09:33 Thank you so much for joining us here on The Final Word.
09:37 And looking forward to Clay wearing all of these KT9s.
09:41 We're hoping for a ring this year.
09:43 We're hoping for a ring for the Golden State Warriors and for Clay Thompson, the other half of the Splash Brothers.
09:49 Dwayne Lawrence, design director for footwear at ANTA Basketball.
09:53 Thank you.
