Salehe Bembury

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Salehe Bembury
Born1986 (age 37–38)
New York City, US
Alma materSyracuse University
OccupationFootwear designer
Websitesalehebembury.com

Salehe Bembury (born c. 1986) is an American footwear designer known for his luxurious streetwear-style. He is vice president of sneakers and men's footwear at Versace. Bembury previously designed at Yeezy and Cole Haan.

Early life and education[edit]

Bembury was born c. 1986 and raised in Tribeca, New York.[1][2] He attended the Calhoun School in Manhattan. He completed an industrial design degree at Syracuse University.[2][3]

Career[edit]

After graduation, Bembury designed shoes at Payless.[3] In 2011, he was hired at Cole Haan where he served on the innovation team and created the LunarGrand silhouette.[2][4] His supervisor at Cole Haan worked for Kanye West and encouraged Bembury to submit his portfolio. Starting at Yeezy in 2015, he designed luxury streetwear-style sneakers in the brand's season 3 and 4 projects.[1][5][2] In September 2017, Bembury got his position as head of sneaker design at Versace by direct messaging his future supervisor via LinkedIn.[6][7][4] In 2020, Bembury became vice president of sneakers and men's footwear at Versace. He also designs independently.[8]

Personal life[edit]

As of December 2018, Bembury resided in an apartment in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.[1]

On October 1, 2020, Bembury was stopped and frisked by an officer of the Beverly Hills Police Department after jaywalking. Bembury posted a video of a portion of the encounter to his Instagram account, where he accused the officer of racial profiling and drew connections to shopping while black.[9][10][11] The following day, the Beverly Hills Police Department released the full body cam footage of the incident in which Bembury admits to jaywalking and consents to the officer's requests to identify Bembury and search him for weapons. The encounter lasted approximately 3½ minutes and Bembury was not issued a citation.[12]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Hawgood, Alex (December 20, 2018). "A Yeezy Alum Who Now Designs for Versace (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Petrarca, Emilia (October 10, 2016). "Salehe Bembury Is the Footwear Designer Behind Your Favorite Sneakers". W Magazine. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Gallagher, Jacob (September 6, 2023). "This Designer Knows What Sneakers You'll Be Wearing Next Year". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Kanye West's protege, Salehe Bembury, named Versace's head of sneaker design". REVOLT TV. September 26, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  5. ^ McGarrigle, Lia (September 26, 2017). "Salehe Bembury Named as Versace's New Head of Sneaker Design". Highsnobiety. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Goh, Yang-Yi (September 22, 2020). "How New Balance x Salehe Bembury Became the Fall's Most Anticipated Sneaker Drop". GQ. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  7. ^ Yoshida, Kazuo (December 21, 2018). "「ヴェルサーチェ」がUA&サンズとスニーカーでコラボ ストリートの重要人物サレヘに聞く" ["Versace" collaborates with UA & Sands in sneakers Interviews with street dignitary Salehe]. WWD Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  8. ^ Verry, Peter (July 7, 2020). "Supporting Independents: Salehe Bembury on His Newest Sneaker Collaborations + Finding Inspiration in the Outdoors". Footwear News. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  9. ^ Meara, Paul (October 5, 2020). "Versace VP Says He Was Racially Profiled After Being Stopped And Frisked By Beverly Hills Police". BET. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  10. ^ Elan, Priya (October 10, 2020). "Versace executive accuses Los Angeles police of racial profiling". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "'Beverly Hills While Black': Versace Executive Salehe Bembury Films Encounter After Getting Stopped, Searched By Police". October 2, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  12. ^ "'Versace executive accuses Beverly Hills police of racial profiling after jaywalking stop'". CNN. October 7, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.

External links[edit]