We chat to Offspring Community member Stella aka @Stella_Loris
Tell us about yourself.
Ciao everyone! I’m Stella. I’m a mom who’s passionate about sneakers and I share this passion with my son, Loris. I am 44 years old, I was born and raised in South Italy, a beautiful region called Puglia. A place where the sun is shining every day, definitely the opposite to our London weather. ☔️ I moved to London in 2012 and fell in love with the city after a first visiting for a holiday with my husband in 2011.
How long have you been into sneakers and how did you get into them?
Well, I’ve always been a sneakers fan, but I’ve been collecting them since 2020. My approach with the limited-edition pairs is a bit of a funny/dramatic story. A friend of mine asked me to enter a raffle for him, I was lucky enough to win a raffle and ever since I had the shoes in my hands I fell in love and decided to keep them for myself. It was the last time he talked to me 😅! The pair in question were the Dunk low x OFF-WHITE Michigan and obviously I still have them with me.
Do you have any early sneaker memory?
I remember when I was a teenager, around 12/13 years old, my parents surprised me with a pair of Reebok Pump’s for my birthday, it was a dream pair for many kids at the time.
However, my best memory is my first matching sneaker with my son, it was 2013 and the shoes were a simple pair of Converse. We have been matching sneakers ever since that day.
What sneakers are in your rotation currently?
I don’t follow any rotation to be honest as I like to wear different sneakers every day. I choose my shoes by checking the weather forecast.
Do you have any sneaker regrets and what is your grail?
Yes I do, my biggest regret is the Air Max 1 x Patta Black, I didn’t try for them as I wasn’t sure at the time. I am so glad that I have recently added two of my grails into my collection – the Air Max 1 97 x Sean Wotherspoon and the Air Max 1 x Parra. My grail at the moment is the Jordan 1 Fearless Melody Ehsani, and I hope to get them sooner or later.
As a woman in the sneaker industry can you tell us how you’ve been able to navigate yourself in predominantly male space and your experience so far?
Navigating a predominantly male space as a woman in the sneaker industry can be challenging but empowering. I believe confidence is key in any industry, especially in a male-dominated space. We just need to believe in our abilities, knowledge, and expertise, I am trying to navigate this space with confidence and determination.💪🏻❤️
However, from experience I get ‘salty’ when the sneakers are not released in small sizes, I hope to see gender neutral sneakers in the near future from major brands with full inclusivity.
Aside from sneakers what else are you into?
I’m Italian, so I definitely love pasta & coffee, and in my spare time I like to attend the latte art courses even if being a barista is not my job. My biggest dream is to own an old Volkswagen van and make it as a coffee truck. You know what they said “More espresso less depresso” ☕️😉
What does the Offspring community mean to you?
To be a part of the OS community means a lot to me. It is not just a large number of people that loves sneakers. I really found some people that today I can call ‘friends’, like @es_f.p, @indiandreadhead, @_vii.ncenzo, and @hjcp93 just to mention few.
This is what I love about my community, the sneakers dramas part doesn’t belong to me 😅. Also, thanks to OS community my son and I have been involved in donating many pairs of preloved shoes. As a mother, it is very important for me that my son understands how lucky he is to own a sneakers collection at his age.
Check out more from Stella on Instagram @stella_loris 🇮🇹🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼
