If you saw my post a few weeks ago, about Sekure D’s sneaker art time-lapse, you’ll know I love my sneaker art! Well, I have a treat for our readers this week, as I have had the great pleasure of interviewing the Lovely Bri aka Mozart Circus!

“Bri was born and raised in the mean streets of Surrey where petty crime and swearing is as common as country fetes. It is rumoured Bri likes to participate in one or two splendid games of croquet and sip Pimms while rested on her veranda, overlooking a rural vision of absolute prosperity, the sun gleaming off her monocle. When the weather is rather ghastly she likes to partake in this thing called “Street Art”.“

First sneakers you ever bought?
In all honesty, I have no idea. I have trouble remembering last week let alone the first pair of sneakers I bought. I remember the first pair of high-tops I bought. Still have them and not in too shabby condition considering I think I got them around 10/11 years ago. They’re a pair of Nike dunks in a pastel blue & yellow colour way. I would weave different colour laces into them because I thought I was the bollocks.

Is there a particular sneaker that sticks out from your youth?
Reebok Workouts. All black. No fuss. Or when I was really young it had to be those flashing sneakers which cost about the price of a Big Mac. They had lights in the heels so you would strut about and they would flash red making people think your parents had attached reflectors on your shoes so they didn’t lose you.

What’s your favourite pair of sneakers of all time and why?
Hard question, really hard. It’s near on impossible to answer it. There are so many & all
for different reasons. I could maybe pick a favourite from each brand but that would take too long. The Adidas Superstar has to be up there above all other Adidas Originals because of the sheer scale of the advertising. I mean if you’ve got run DMC rapping about it you know it’s going to be big. I love the Reebok Pump also. They’re just cool, still manage to look originally retro whatever year they’re released and the interaction with the shoe never gets boring. The whole concept behind the Air Max 95 was revolutionary so you have to admire it, but I like Dunks and most of my Holy Grails are Dunks, but then you have the odd one here and there, I love the royal blue Ewing & I really like Gourmet’s all over leopard print sneaker.

Do you have a pair of kicks in your collection that you don’t wear very often and why?
I have a pair of Pro Model Shells from `97 in the box never worn. They’re not particularly rare or anything but it was the strife of trying to find them in my size & with the box. I love the box, it has an ad for the France World Cup on the side but I had a house party a few years back and where I had left my new purchase out in my room, a couple of drunk mates decided it was a good idea to tag the box. So I was left in mourning for about a week staring at this graffiti covered box, with Happy Birthday messages scrawled all over the lid. Twats.

Staple everyday pair in your collection and why?
An everyday pair would have to be Air Max 90s, I have a pair I used to wear at school for P.E so they’re my dog walking kicks now. They’re comfortable and just understated enough not to notice how scratched they are, from when I actually moved during P.E, which was rare especially since all my school wanted to do was play rounder’s and all I wanted to do was pick at the grass, re-do my laces every 2 minutes.

Is there a particular style that you keep re-buying? eg: Mine is the Jordan III and Adidas Superstar.
I will always keep buying Dunks. The designs are endless and as there is such a larger surface with a High Dunk, the artist collab’s with them won’t stop, it’s easy to play around with a Dunk when you have panels that big. Nike don’t need to change the shape or go all meshy with the Dunk, for the shoe to look different.

Beaters or best for gettin’ dirttttty at raves?
I hate raves. I couldn’t think of anything worse than being splattered with florescent paint and getting mud on my sneakers in order not to be able to hear any music because the prick next to you want to blow his whistle in your ear from start to finish. But my beaters would have to be a pair of black & white Nike blazers I got a loooong time ago. I mean before, when you could wear them without some oversized cable knit cardigan from Jack Wills. They’re my art trainers.

Latest purchase?
A pair of Fragment X Design Dunks. Hiroshi Fujiwara created 3 different colour-ways for Nike in 2010. They were all named after Cities. I picked up the London ones last week. Rumored they were based on the Never Mind the Bollocks album so had to buy them. Most people I think would cringe at the sight of them and it’s true that the only signature of the collaboration, is a tiny symbol on the back panel of each shoe. So you’re basically paying a premium price just for this mark that’s the size of a 5p.

Best sneaker experience?
Whenever you find that the last pair in stock is in your size. That’s always euphoric and an on-going good sneaker moment.

Worst sneaker experience?
Seeing Pastry sneakers in Foot Locker. Disgusting behaviour.

Any new releases you’ve got your eye on?
I was looking at the Ewing Focus’ which are supposed to be released at the end of June, but tbh all I notice is Jordan releases. They seem to surface a new J every month. Kinda annoys me.

Favourite sneaker stores?
Well obviously you have your standard stores like Foot Patrol & Size. I prefer some of the online stores like Shelf Life. It good to see into independent stores that stock things you don’t expect, like Decade, a store in Guilford, they’re pretty cool at taking in suggestions from the customers.

What inspired you to get into making sneaker art?
Basically it got to a point where I couldn’t afford to go out and buy a new pair of sneakers that I decided to draw a pair instead & stare at those for free. It worked out alright, after that I just kept drawing. Haven’t put my pen down yet.

Ever thought of putting your art work on a pair of sneakers?
I have done before but it’s strange I draw whole shoes so nobody really wants a sneaker with a sneaker drawn on it. You don’t see people walking round with a tattoo of an arm on their arm, so it doesn’t work with shoes. I have done a couple of reoccurring patterns. I did a pair of low AF1s with the “Riddler” pattern. Also a pair of AF1 mids with a kind of abstract cube design in all different colours, I’ve had offers on those but I wear them so they’re not for sale.

What’s your favourite part about drawing / painting sneakers?
When drawing sneakers, the best part is the details, for instance I love stitching. A sneaker with a lot of stitching is a great sneaker to draw. Makes it look more realistic and adds a different texture. I could do the stitching on a lot of Nike trainers with my eyes closed. I don’t have to refer back to pictures of Dunks anymore. The patterns of stitching and whether it’s a double line or single of stitches are all in my head, I could tell you the amount of single stitches that are on a size 6 High Dunk, mainly because I looked at it so many times but also because I’m very sad. Also, love the cross hatch pattern on the front of Superstars, those marks looks great in paint.

I was lucky enough to receive a few prints, vinyls and an amazing phone case from the lady herself! Support the independent artists in the UK scene. Take a look at some of the sneaky peeky pics below of the goodies Bri sent me… all these items are available from her website, so go check!

Don’t forget to go check out Mozart Circus and follow her on Instagram: @mozartcircus and twitter: @mozartcircus and show her NUFF LOVE!

Peace & Love!

@Lem0n_Cake