Storytelling, One Step at a Time: How One Man is Mapping Filipino Heritage onto Shoes

An Online Contest Started It All. In 2021, the blog “NikeSBorNothing” and bespoke sneaker customizer “ReverseLand” set out to bring a grassroots design competition to life. The rules were simple: take a Nike Dunk silhouette and design it around a place, city, or culture. Curtis Lyon, who is of Filipino descent, couldn’t resist the opportunity to share the beauty of his culture with the world. While his design didn’t win the contest, it was heavily championed by Filipinos worldwide, being reshared thousands of times by actors, models, and musicians, and even featured on Philippines news outlets.

A subsequent contest shifted the philosophy to designing the same silhouette after a pop-culture icon. Lyon wove in a cohesive story honoring a Filipino legend, and the demand for both shoes reached an all-time high.

Immense community support helped drive the creation of these concepts. Brought to life by the renowned Asia-based customizer ReverseLand, the project features two distinct designs: the “Barong” and a tribute to the legendary tattoo artist Apo Whang-Od. For Lyon, the goal is simple yet profound: to shed light on the immense beauty of Filipino culture and prove that heritage belongs on the global stage.

While the shoes are not officially affiliated with Nike, they serve as a testament to using footwear as a vessel for storytelling. “I hope contests like this help cultivate a sense of creativity among shoe companies—that storytelling matters and putting effort and love into designs makes a massive difference for communities,” Lyon said. The bespoke pairs were never designed for profit or mass release, but rather to act as symbols to inspire joy and illuminate a rich culture.

The “Barong Tagalog”: A Grandfather’s Flair The first design reimagines the Barong Tagalog—the sheer, embroidered national dress of the Philippines—as a piece of high-end streetwear. The shoe features translucent paneling and intricate needlework that mimics traditional piña (pineapple leaf) fabric. For Lyon, the inspiration was deeply personal.

“My biggest inspiration was watching how stylish my grandpa looked in his Barong at every formal event” Lyon shared. “I always thought it should be normalized to celebrate and wear such fashion and flair in everyday life, not just at formal events.” By placing these traditional motifs on a silhouette as iconic as the Dunk, Lyon is effectively normalizing the elegance of his ancestors for a new generation.

A Tribute to a Living Legend: Apo Whang-Od. The second shoe takes an ancestral approach, paying homage to Apo Whang-Od. At 109 years old, she is the oldest living mambabatok (traditional Kalinga tattooist) and a symbol of Philippines cultural resilience.

The sneaker is adorned with geometric patterns and sacred symbols synonymous with Whang-Od’s hand-tapped ink. Lyon’s intent was to highlight a figure who has become a global icon while remaining the primary gatekeeper of a fading tradition. “When I saw the contest details centered on pop culture figures, I wanted to honor someone who embodies everything amazing about the Philippines.” Lyon and ReverseLand spent years selecting materials that could be etched to mimic actual tattoos, studying countless works by Whang-Od to ensure the design remained authentic.

A Journey of Identity Lyon’s own story is as layered as his designs. Born in London, raised in Canada within a Filipino household before becoming a father in California, his perspective is uniquely international. His mother took him home to the Philippines every Christmas, and it was during these visits that he gained a profound vision for the beauty of his culture.

“The purpose of these designs is to showcase the artistry that has existed in the Philippines for centuries,” Lyon explained. “Whether it’s the embroidery of a Barong or the ink of a Kalinga warrior, it’s about showing the world how beautiful this culture truly is.”

The Storyteller’s Soul Lyon’s path to footwear design and storytelling was born from a lifelong obsession with the narrative power of fashion. Deeply integrated into the Toronto sneaker scene, he spent weekends lining up for new releases. Curtis began realizing the shoes he would purchase would be tied to specific memories of those line ups or people he would meet. 

Long before this contest, he founded the fashion blog “Kick It With Curtis” a global platform where sneakerheads shared stories about the  most sentimental footwear they have and why. While he has since stopped the blog for being more present for his son and career, these experiences shaped his design philosophy.

“I’ve always been addicted to the power of fashion to tell a story,” Lyon reflects. “I realized these aren’t just shoes; they are vessels for heritage.” Curtis hopes these designs will spark imagination in future storytellers, encouraging them to use whatever vessel feels most personal to them.

For Lyon, the transition into fatherhood has reframed the ‘vessel’ of his work. If a shoe can carry the weight of centuries old tradition or the elegance of a national dress attire, it can certainly carry the dreams of a father for his child. He hopes these designs serve as a catalyst, proving that storytelling is a renewable resource—one that he plans to pass down. By weaving his heritage into the fabric of modern culture, Curtis is ensuring that the joy of creation doesn’t end at the design studio. Instead, it begins at home, where a new generation will eventually lace up their own shoes, ready to tell a story that is uniquely theirs.

Photos Captured by Rosalie Yu
Hair by Chad Gabriel (Steel and Strand)