Designer John Ashford

John Ashford is a shoe designer, visual artist, illustrator, photographer, stylist, author, and teacher. After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in Commercial Art, Ashford traveled to many cities in the United States and around the world.

He learned the process of constructing the perfect stylish and comfortable shoe from an old veteran cobbler in Naples, Italy.

Marrying those exquisite lessons and his natural artistic ability, he created The John Ashford Collection in 2003.  

In late 2012, he birthed Authentic by John Ashford. This unique brand defines couture with high fashion art. Each shoe is an artistic masterpiece that is hand-crafted and signed by John Ashford himself.

His shoe collection has been featured around the world - including Africa, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, and many other countries.  

His shoes have also been in numerous high fashion magazines. Additionally, he has made shoes for celebrities such as Wendy Williams, Alicia Keys, Ashanti, Paris Hilton, and many, more. 

His limited-edition shoe line is currently sold online, in select stores in Canada, select boutiques in the US, and the John Ashford Showroom in New York City. 

His limited-edition Sneaker line is called J-Ash. 

RAINE: Why did you pursue a career in designing shoes? 

JOHN ASHFORD: I pursued a career in designing shoes because an Italian cobbler saw that I had a passion for art, and he was excited about teaching me. I was doubtful at first, but then believed I would become successful at it.

 RAINE: When did you fall in love with art and why? 

ASHFORD: I fell in love with art when I was a small child. The earliest memory was when I was four years old, and I was writing my name on the wall in my bedroom. By the time I got to the second letter, my mom disciplined me and let me know not to draw on the walls. The next day, she brought me a little black book with white pages in it. I started drawing lines, crooked lines, broken lines, wavy lines, and circular lines. That was the beginning moment of my art career. 

RAINE: Where do you get the inspiration for your shoes? 

ASHFORD: I get inspiration for shoes from nature. I love colors and textures. Water is a stimulant in my ideas. Transparency is a beautiful contour to fashion. 

RAINE: What drew you to become an art teacher, and what impact do you want to have?

 ASHFORD: When I grew up, I was the youngest between my sister and I. Many of the kids in my neighborhood were either three years older or three years younger. The majority of the children were not my age. As I became a teenager, I learned that I had acquired so much from the older kids. In turn, I ended up being a role model to the younger kids.  

By the time I finished college, I realized that I had a powerful voice and wanted to uplift other artists like myself. I wanted every artist to be in charge of their own art and manage their own artwork. As an art teacher, I have seen countless students come back years after graduation to say, "Thank you for teaching me this or that!" It makes me proud to know I helped a student become a better person in life. 

RAINE: What is your favorite place that you have traveled to, and how did that make you a better designer? 

ASHFORD: Out of the 38 countries that I have had the pleasure of traveling to, Costa Rica was my favorite place. I saw a waterfall flow into a pond, and out of the pond, was another waterfall that flowed into another pond. It was so surreal that I jumped into the pond and felt like I had found the fountain of youth. From that experience, I learned to just go with what feels natural. That is what I feel makes me a more in-tune designer.  

RAINE: Have you ever faced the issue of burnout in your career? If so, how did you overcome it? 

ASHFORD: I have never faced burnout, but I always try to be a better artist and designer than I was from the day before. Instead of following trends, I choose to stay creative and go with the flow. 

RAINE: If someone asked you how they could stimulate their creativity, what advice would you give? 

ASHFORD: To stimulate one's creativity, I would ask them to take a walk in their neighborhood, or in someone else's neighborhood. I personally like going to the beach and watching the water hit the sand. For every wave, there is a different ocean current to the sand.  

RAINE: What are three things your fans don’t know about you? 

ASHFORD: 1) I've been a DJ since 12 years old. 2) I was in a hip-hop jazz band as a DJ/Turntablist, and that's how I was able to travel to Naples, Italy - where I ended up studying with a shoe cobbler.

3) I am also a painter/visual artist that has had my artwork featured on many of the 90's TV sitcoms such as Martin, The Jamie Foxx Show, Moesha, The Parkers, For Your Love, and recently this year, The Crossover series written by Kwame Alexander for Disney Plus. 

RAINE: What words of wisdom can you share with others on a similar journey? 

ASHFORD: Anyone getting into fashion or art, stay true to who you are and never let money or infiltration decide your worth! Be you and be okay with that. If others aren't okay with that, that is their loss. You can change the world by being you 100%. 

RAINE: Do you have any exciting plans coming up? 

ASHFORD: I've been making shoes for over 20 years, so in fall/winter 2023/2024, I will finally be releasing my book Primary Colors, The Art of the Shoe. It is about my stories and the beginning years of shoemaking.

All photos: Tom Marvel @tommarvelphotography

Make up Artist: Nikki Jelin @nikkij_mua & @charkova_irina

Hair: George Grierson @geoxge & @jasonlinkow 

The red thigh high boot is called "Cherry Bomb" The model is @catwalkchemist

The black thigh high boot is called "Furious Flowers". The model is @dannyaross

The silver thigh high boot is called "Metallic Drip".  The model is @dannyaross

The beige thigh high boot with white lace is called "The Skin I'm in". The model is @kelseyy.lian

The brown metallic knee high boot is called "Buddah Bless" featured in "Primary Colors, The Art of the Shoe" written by John Ashford

Additional models - Stephanie Pham and Christina Westphal