Sneaker culture continues to push many trends when it comes to overall fashion in youth + street culture, sometimes with corresponding colorways from top coveted shoes matched in apparel, to overall style based on one’s chosen type of footwear. However one of the most exciting new developments happening in the scene is the premium designed sneaker category, which many people credit to the growing popularity of the brand Creative Recreation out of Los Angeles.

We caught up with Joshua Willis, the sales manager for the brand, at Agenda and again in Las Vegas during Project February 14^th to get the inside scoop with Label Networks TV on what makes Creative Recreation so unique. “I think it stems from the designs and product itself,” explains Josh. “The founders felt there was a void between skate and athletic-inspired footwear and dress-causal footwear. The designers are bringing the lifestyle of causal sneaker to the dress casual footwear industry. So in our product, we were inspired by uppers from the dress casual category and brought them comfort of athletic skate shoe, and combined them.”

What’s also interesting about Creative Recreation is that they don’t necessarily believe the hype. Sneaker freakers are known to live and breathe the blog cache culture that in many ways have become the p.r. machines for advertisers such as Nike. Latest drops aren’t necessarily what Creative Recreation is actually all that interested in, but rather they’ve taken the next step to a different realm creating their own set of trends and guidelines. “We take our influences from high-end fashion more so and hope skate is growing into this marketplace,” explains Josh. “It’s about getting into something that looks good but in another realm such as recognizing a shoe that looks nice with a Dior blazer. We’ve separated ourselves from that general sneaker culture.”

How? It all comes down to the shoes. Creative Recreation is known for seeking out the best materials for their product and the main designer is known in the company as being way ahead of the curve when it comes to design. Retailers who have picked up on this include Beams Gallery in Japan, Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong, Barneys in the U.S., along with Saks, The Closet in Orange County, American Rag in LA, among others.

Showcasing at the trade shows, Creative Recreation featured their Select Limited Collection, constructed by upper calfskin, Oxblood, and black calf colors. They also have a collection called Superiora which includes leather-lined inners. Always featured however is their more classic style Cesario which was the staple style since the brand was conceived in 2002. New for Fall includes boots such as the Montana constructed from full-grain leathers and canvas pieces, and shoes with neubucks and suedes for classic hiker styles but with a twist.

In the future for Creative Recreation they’ll be focusing more on their women’s collection having brought in a new women’s designer and simply “progressing our markets in general,” explains Josh. “I can’t disclose all of the details, but we’re continuing with the premium division and will continue to find the best materials possible and keep pushing it.”