Art Queen Takiyah Ward Designs Custom Cleats For Seahawks Quarterback Geno Smith

Converge’s Art Queen and Owner of The Re-Sole 206 Takiyah TDUB Ward Poses With Geno Smith and the Custom Cleats She Designed For Him (Photo Jordan Somers)

Converge Media’s Art Queen and host of Art Of The Matter Takiyah “TDUB” Ward continues to take the Emerald City by storm as she recently unveiled her cleat collaboration with Seahawks Quarterback Geno Smith. After recently opening a brand-new brick and mortar store for her brand, The Resole 206, Ward was excited for the opportunity to work with Smith and made the most of it. 

“I designed The Re-Sole 206 with projects and clients like this in mind. I've been in the sneaker art/ customizing game a very long time, every project brings with it new challenges and opportunities whether it be the time, the canvas or the design,” Ward said. “I'm looking forward to more big projects, but more importantly making this space the epicenter of new ideas in the sneaker and art game. "

The cleats themselves were showcased at Smith’s annual Turkey Giveaway, which took place at The Jerk Shack Kitchen in the Central District. The giveaway provided 212 turkeys to families along with sides and other resources. The cleats were raffled off during the event, a fitting tribute to an evening founded on giving back.

“Takiyah is an amazing artist, and so I asked her to do these cleats for Geno,” Owner of The Jerk Shack Trey Lamont said. “Geno provided the cleats, and she did a bang up job. She did Russell’s when he was here, and so I said ‘why wouldn’t you do Geno’s?”

A look at the custom cleats designed by Seattle artist Takiyah TDUB Ward (photos by Jordan Somers)

The design on the shoes highlights 7Sunday Heroes, an organization which Smith works with closely to support growth throughout the community through special projects.

“We host people from the inner city at every single Seahawks game,” Smith said. “I’ve been doing it since I was a rookie in New York and it’s really important to me. My family is big on philanthropy so it’s important for me to be out and amongst the people.

Smith also praised Ward’s design ability, saying the details in the cleats shined through.

“I can tell you’ve been doing this for 20 years,” Smith said. “These are dope.”

For Ward, a tight timeline motivated her to create something truly special.

"For me, it's about having the space to accomplish such tasks. The turnaround was quick! I knew I had to come with some heat and I was pumped on the final result,” Ward said. I think Geno loved them too. It's always a blessing to be able to put the art of sneaker customizing in the spotlight like this, it truly is revolutionizing how we think about what we wear.”

You can find out more about The Re-Sole 206 on their website https://theresole206.com/, and make sure to tune into Art Of The Matter on Converge Media.

Check out our recap of the Turkey Giveaway event, including a look at Takiyah’s custom cleats, below.