Call of the Wild: Mark Ronson Creates Gucci’s Freshest Kicks

View Gallery "I’m like the canvas side -- the shitty side that gets dirty quick -- and Gucci is the luxury leather,” says British musician and dandy Mark Ronson, parsing the components of one of the limited-edition boat shoes he designed with the high-end fashion house. The Grammy-winning turntablist (and brother of fashion designer Charlotte Ronson) partnered with Gucci’s creative director Frida Giannini to create hip footwear for the labels Icon-Temporary sneaker line. Sitting at the back of Indochine, New York’s storied nightlife destination, Ronson excitedly pokes at the eyelets and pulls at the laces on one of his high0tops. (Check out Indochine: Stories, Shaken and Stirred, celebrating the restaurant's 25th anniversary; see a gallery of selected photos.) The shoes will be sold at pop-up shops in New York, Miami, Tokyo and London, among other locations. Each pair comes with a Gucci iPhone app that allows users to mix their own songs. What’s more, customers who buy the trainers will snag a brand-new Ronson track inspired by each of the cities.

To craft his ode to New York City, Ronson formed Chauffeur (an homage to Duran Duran, with whom he is currently collaborating), a temporary band with singer Sam Sparro and rapper Theophilus London.  According to the two-time Grammy winner and producer of songs for the likes of Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, the track sounds like “a local, very experimental soul record.” The other cities on the circuit will get their own, uniquely flavored Ronson jam, made with the help of a hometown musician.  “I think all of the people that I work with on this project, from Theophilus to the Dap-Kings, would love these shoes,” Ronson says.  “and that’s the important thing.”

Photo by Mark Squires. Styling by Bryan Levandowski. Grooming: Alexandra Kwiatkowski at Atelier Management using La Mer Skincare and Hourglass Cosmetics. Ronson wears: Shirt, tie, suit and sneakers by Gucci.