Fetti d'Betty Gets her Shake On!

Bronx native Fetti D'Biasi talks about teaming up with Milkshake Kicks to make the vibrant Fetti Betty Shakes...and what it feels like to have a "custom" available at 300 K-Marts nationwide!

by Lori Lobenstine

What inspired the Fetti Betty's?
I was inspired to do something with BETTY BOOP for the ladies! A lot of males order my customs, so I figured if I did something with BETTY it would be very appealing to the ladies!! And it turned out to be true!!

How did you bring your idea to Milkshake Kicks? What kind of response did you get? 
I was introduced to Milkshake by Amonee Rochester, FSF’s lead blogger. She thought it would be great if I could do something on their kicks. When I met [co-founders] Courtney and Curvel, they were excited to finally meet up and just gave me a pair and said, "Make them yours"! When I brought them back to the office, the facial expressions they both had were priceless! My family had already told me they would be blown away by it, but I thought they would just appreciate what I did to them and maybe ask for another pair to be done.  Instead, after a few months Curvel called to tell me they got the licensing from King World (BETTY BOOP) and they loved them as well!! After another few months, Curvel asked me to come to the office on a regular basis to design with Ivy. This has been a great experience thus far because I am learning about producing sneakers from scratch and how retailers like to buy.

What are your hopes for the K-Mart launch?
My hope for the KMART launch is to sell out!!! As a customizer, I don’t think we receive the amount of support from retailers that we should. There were several stores that I approached to provide exclusive designs just for them, and they turned me down saying it wouldn't sell...but look!! KMART, a national department store, is carrying my custom kicks now. I especially want to emphasize to anyone trying to do something they are passionate about that it can and will happen if you stick to it and keep believing in yourself and your work!!

How do you feel about young women across the country rocking your design?
I would love to travel to different markets to see the ladies shakin' in my FETTi BETTY's!! I would say it would be very flattering that they chose my sneaker over a Jordan, Blazer, Adidas, and all the other big names out there! To the ladies who have my kicks, are going to get my kicks, like my kicks, love my kicks...THANK YOU!!! Please continue to support my work, because it only gets better!!

How did you get into customizing?
I started customizing in 2000, after not seeing any kicks I wanted to buy. I was tired of the recycled colorways and nothing new… so I actually took a pair of Timberland field boots and added fabric to the sides. I loved how it looked and did it to some AF1's, then Pumas, then adidas, then Pony's, and whatever shoe I could get my hands on. Once I started to wear them outside and got feedback, I saw I was onto something big! A few neighborhood guys came to my house and asked if I could do to their kicks what I did to mines, and I charged them a fee which they paid upfront! Afterwards I got enough courage to enter sneaker shows and competitions to display my work to even more sneakerheads. The response was and is still so great...how can I stop now?!

What are some of your personal favorites from your own work?
My favorite pieces are the Toucan Sams, Joker Vandals, and KSWISS Twitter Kicks!!

Who has worn Fetti D’biasi’s?
I have mostly male clients, however the ladies have stepped up nowadays and have been ordering as well! A few celebs have some of my work too, like SNOOP DOGG, RON BROWZ, ANTONIO PIERCE (of the Giants), LL COOL J and a few others. There are still other celebs that I would love to see in my kicks, like WENDY WILLIAMS & ELLEN!

What’s next for you in terms of customizing? Any new directions you want to go in?
I still stick to my original formula of customizing: sharp, detailed, colorful. I would like to start designing my own fabrics to be added to the kicks, which I have done already for a few pairs. Now that I have this collab with Milkshake, I would like to continue working with them so I can one day create another design which is from scratch! Until then, it's still paint and fabric!

Anything else you’d like to add?
I would like to thank the entire FSF team for all their efforts on our movement to get the ladies footwear proper! I would like to thank Milkshake for appreciating my art and helping me reach my dreams of designing kicks for the masses! I also have to thank my family and friends for their continuous support and faith in me, especially mom who knew I was determined from day one!  THANKS MA!!!

We also asked Milkshake co-founder, Courtney Carreras, what it was like working with Fetti on the Fetti Betty's... What inspired you about Fetti's vision? Fetti doesn't do shoddy work. She is crisp in her designs and exact in her details. Her being from the Bronx also let me know she got skills! (Note: Courtney was born in the Bronx and the MilkshakeNYC corporate name Steuben Avenue is a street she was raised on.)

What was cutting edge about the collaboration?
We are super excited to be the first to bring an ACTUAL custom designed sneaker directly as is to the mass market. I think this is breaking ground for the sneaker culture...giving these designers a platform to have their art reach the masses with the support of stores like Kmart, Sears and hopefully other chain locations.

For more information: milkshakekicks.com