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PinkPantheress sits on a patterned rug, surrounded by various ballet flats, looking up at the camera

PinkPantheress

PinkPantheress sits in her studio, wearing a blue top and white skirt, surrounded by design sketches and a laptop

PinkPantheress has come a long way from recording her first loops alone in her bedroom for an audience on social media. The world's catching up with her bold and exciting mix of early-2000s nostalgia and modern internet culture. Her fashion sense is as fresh as her music, informed by memories of digging in her mother's closet as a child and developing an obsession with great footwear and style.

She's now a multi-platinum recording artist who's still experimenting with sounds and style. Her project takes one of her signature fashion statements, ballet flats, incorporates her love of vintage looks, and reimagines them as a color blocking, pattern changing, accessory-swapping set of customizable shoes that can take her from home to stage and everywhere in between.

PinkPantheress's
Ballet Flats

Explore these unique PinkPantheress artifacts to see how she turned moodboards, sketches, and fabric samples into her very own mix-and-match ballet flat.

Three pieces of unfinished, brightly colored faux leather, in red, teal, and blue, are stacked on a white surface

Swatches for Shoe Upper

Swatches for Shoe Upper

Bold, primary colors have always been a part of PinkPantheress's creative aesthetic. Recent album covers have shown PinkPantheress silhouetted against stark red and blue backdrops.

Seven black tulle and satin hair accessories, including bows and flowers, for PinkPantheress's "Unfinished Flats" project

Interchangeable Bow Charms

Interchangeable Bow Charms

A collection of interchangeable charms. These are magnetized and replaceable on the top front of the shoe, allowing the wearer to customize the look of her flats. Along with her idea for swappable inserts, these charms can make the shoes suit whatever fit PinkPantheress is creating.

A folded piece of black, orange, and green plaid fabric, possibly for PinkPantheress's custom ballet flats

Pattern Inspo

Pattern Inspo

British iconography, tartans, and other clashing patterns form a through-line not just in PinkPantheress's work, but in the lineage of fashion designers from the U.K. After some research, though, she decided not to stay in one place but to try new patterns and colors: polka dots, stripes and a newly-designed crown pattern.

PinkPantheress's custom unfinished ballet flats include red polka dot, pink and white, and red velvet pairs

Vintage Flats

Vintage Flats

“For this project, I took inspiration from a lot of vintage styles and so I'm combining things that I grew up with and a bit more of a modern take.”

— PinkPantheress

PinkPantheress's ballet flats design sketches show a floral pattern, a convertible strap, and a bow detail, with fabric swatches

Hand-Drawn Sketches

Hand-Drawn Sketches

Early-stage sketches show the progression of ideas for the ballet flats, paired with lace samples.

A close-up shows a person's hands guiding blue leather through a sewing machine to create PinkPantheress's custom ballet flats

Leather Stitching

Leather Stitching

Pieces of leather were stitched as part of the fabrication process. PinkPantheress's shoes were designed with the help of shoe designers in the USA in collaboration with PinkPantheress's team, and constructed at a bespoke, community-led studio in her current hometown, Los Angeles.

A close-up of PinkPantheress's custom unfinished ballet flats shows a pink embroidered skull logo on the silver insole

Crest Stamp in Sole

Crest Stamp in Sole

Drawing from the aesthetics of underground scenes like UK garage, PinkPantheress has used the symbols and motifs of royalty in her music and design to subvert and play with traditional British iconography. For her flats, she added a pink crown stamp as a repeated element. The crown appears in patterns and on the insole and outsole.

Three custom PinkPantheress ballet flats are displayed, two glossy black and one black lace

Split Shoe with Removable Insert

Split Shoe with Removable Insert

PinkPantheress's shoe concept features a removable, changeable inner and a see-through outer shell. Featured here is the lace version of the insert.

A cozy bedroom with a four-poster wooden bed, two nightstands with lamps, and a bench at the foot of the bed

PinkPantheress's Bedroom

PinkPantheress's Bedroom

PinkPantheress's career started in her bedroom, sharing loops with the world via social media. Her Los Angeles home is still a place of comfort and creativity, curated to bring a sense of calm to her creative process.

A single PinkPantheress custom ballet flat, black with white polka dots and a glossy black toe cap, is shown on a white background

Polka Dot Insert

Polka Dot Insert

PinkPantheress wanted her flats to evolve with her style choices. On stage and off, she is always consciously building her look. Once she'd landed on the idea of custom inserts under a PVC layer, the team designed several patterns, including stripes, repeated metallic crowns and, in a nod to early-2000s styles, black and white polka dots.

PinkPantheress's customizable ballet flats feature various clip-on vamp charms and removable Mary Jane straps with bows and pearls

Charm Designs

Charm Designs

“I think we are all very obsessed with personalization.”

— PinkPantheress

Charms and accessories were an early idea for how to make PinkPantheress's shoes customizable. Her team went through many rounds of exploration: bows, pearls, ribbons, crystals and hearts were all options.

PinkPantheress's unfinished ballet flats and shoemaking tools are scattered across a busy workbench

Removable Insert Fabrication

Removable Insert Fabrication

One idea for the ballet flats involves a removable, customizable insert with a clear viewing window, allowing the style of the shoe to be changed on a whim. This idea ended up being part of the final design.

PinkPantheress's "Unfinished Flats" design shows interchangeable inserts, Mary Jane straps, and a translucent insert with floating crowns

Removable Insert Concepts

Removable Insert Concepts

Once PinkPantheress decided to make her ballet flats customizable, ideas for different inserts came quickly, from polka dots to miniature crowns.

PinkPantheress's unfinished ballet flats, made from shimmering red sequined fabric, lie crumpled on a white surface

Potential Decorative Sequins

Potential Decorative Sequins

Though not ultimately selected, PinkPantheress initially explored using sequin material with her ballet flats.

PinkPantheress designs custom ballet flats for Vicky on a laptop, surrounded by fabric and sketches

Organizing with Chrome

Organizing with Chrome

Gemini in Chrome can synthesize web pages for easy understanding or sharing. PinkPantheress was able to summarize a mood board and quickly share inspiration with her team. This meant Gemini in Chrome could summarize the page, craft an email, and send it to the team, all without leaving the mood board.

PinkPantheress's custom ballet flats are being shaped by a shoemaker using a shoe tree and a hammer

Forming the Shoe

Forming the Shoe

PinkPantheress worked with shoemakers, researched and sourced with the help of Chrome, to create prototypes, or “pullovers” for her ballet flats.

PinkPantheress's feet, clad in custom black ballet flats, rest on a patterned rug beneath a white dress

Testing Flats

Testing Flats

PinkPantheress wear tests all of her flats, including her own design, to make sure they are comfortable to move around and perform in.

PinkPantheress designs custom ballet flats on a laptop, surrounded by music studio equipment

Researching Using Split View

Researching Using Split View

PinkPantheress compared her latest designs with inspiration from the web with the help of Chrome's Split View feature.

Ballet Flats

Inspired by PinkPantheress? Discover how you can use Chrome to help bring your unfinished projects to life.

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PinkPantheress works on her custom ballet flats, surrounded by design sketches and fabric swatches
PinkPantheress sits at a desk in her studio, surrounded by design sketches for her custom ballet flats

Finish what you started with Chrome

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PinkPantheress
Three custom PinkPantheress ballet flats are arranged diagonally, featuring polka dot, lace, and clear patent leather designs
PinkPantheress sits on a patterned rug, surrounded by various ballet flats, looking up at the camera
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Solange Knowles, with long dark hair, poses in a black mesh top and dark skirt against a white background
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