Keem Jones: Fayetteville's Chris Dixon a 'sole' survivor bringing his talent to Timberland
Aug. 11, 1973, marked the beginning of hip-hop after DJ Kool Herc, a Bronx, New York-based DJ, invented the art during a back-to-school party for his sister.
Two hundred and twenty-two miles away, in Boston, Nathan Swartz and his son Sidney were busy developing an 8-inch waterproof boot for their company, Timberland. The later-developed 6-inch version of the boot would become a staple in the hip-hop community.
For the 50th anniversary of that back-to-school party on Sedgwick Avenue, Timberland released the men’s Hip-Hop Royalty Premium 6-inch boot. The dark purple boots that implemented the four elements of hip-hop sold out, and one Fayetteville native could not be more ecstatic.
Becoming a designer
Christopher “Chris” Dixon, 39, is a former Jack Britt High School basketball player and senior footwear designer at Timberland. Dixon attributes his growth in the footwear space to a string of successes and failures. His company, CNSTNT DVLPMNT, is a testament to growth and maturation.
As a child, Dixon had a love for shoes. However, his parents didn’t purchase the amount of shoes he wanted, so he drew the shoes he wanted. After seeing a pair of Nike Flightposite 1s, he began to inquire about the designer of the shoes. His counselors could not offer any insight on how to become the next Eric Avar, designer of the Flightposite 1.
As a student at Jack Britt, Dixon excelled on the court, but not so much in the classroom. However, his coach, Coach Isaiah "Ike" Walker Jr., recognized the potential in him and ensured he stayed on the right path, even if it meant laps before class. Walker also motivated Dixon to leave Fayetteville and attend Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State University) before enrolling in Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, where he received his graphic design degree.
Just before finishing his degree program, Dixon entered the Future Sole Design Competition, sponsored by Nike, in 2010. He ultimately won the competition. As part of the competition, he was flown to the Nike Headquarters in Portland, Oregon, and pitched his shoe design to the Nike and Jordan Brand design team. In addition to pitching his design, he learned the process of making footwear.
Though he was pursuing his design career, he still worked at a mattress store, but he was able to learn about comfortable materials to use in footwear design. His knowledge was put to the test when he had the opportunity to get a job in women's fashion with tennis superstar Serena Williams. In addition, he was invited to attend the Pensole Footwear Academy (now a part of Detroit’s Pensole Lewis College), founded by Dr. D’Wayne Edwards, former Nike creative director and Dixon’s mentor.
It was at Pensole that he learned about the professional process of footwear design. Furthermore, purchase inquiries for his dual heel shoe design (priced at $1,800) helped Dixon realize his potential to have his own collection. Thus, the Christopher Coy Collection was born.
Picking up the pieces
Crafted in the same Italian factory as Vince, Hugo Boss and Prada, the Christopher Coy Collection was halted because of a lack of marketing and team. Halting his collection sent Dixon into a state of depression. As a father and husband, he felt he didn’t want to design anymore.
However, he beat depression by creating with purpose. He entered and won the World Sneaker Championship, sponsored by Pensole and Footlocker, which came with a $20,000 prize. He invested his winnings into a new vision, his company, CNSTNT DVLPMNT. The company’s logo pays homage to the infinity symbol because Dixon plans to design forever and continue to get better.
According to its website, CNSTNT DVLPMNT is on a mission to cultivate untapped talent and expand the creative community. During COVID, Dixon created the Creative Discovery Tools: Intro to Sneaker Design Sketching activity book and the character Lil’ Retro to show kids how to design shoes. Along with the books, Dixon held workshops via Zoom to give youth a safe space to learn and grow a community filled with resources and mentors for the children. It was also at this time that corporate brands emphasized Black creativity.
“I was in the right place at the right time doing the right thing,” the Fayetteville native said in a recent interview.
Doing the right thing led to a partnership and position as senior footwear designer at Timberland. In addition to the 50th Anniversary Edition Timberlands, he most recently designed exclusive Timberlands for rapper Fat Joe and the New York Knicks.
Teaching the next generation
Staying true to the mission of CNSTNT DVLPMNT, Dixon continues to cultivate new talent.
Through his partnership with Timberland, he can take his Youth Design Workshop into underserved areas in cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia and the Bronx. He is working to bring the design workshop to his hometown of Fayetteville.
Most recently, on May 9, Dixon visited Fayetteville Technical Community College, where he spoke at the Making Dreams A Reality seminar hosted by the FTCC Small Business Center. He returned the next day as a panelist alongside Kwame Molden, co-founder of the SPGBK watch brand. The panel was a part of the Generation Business Summit hosted by Fayetteville Next. The goal of the event was to help provide resources and guidance.
Passing the torch
After winning a competition sponsored by the shoe brand Merrell, Dixon's daughter, Jade, became one of the youngest Black female footwear designers. The spark came from accompanying her father to work and being in the room with people like Edwards.
“If my kids got it, I know other kids got it. So, I need to find them other kids, too,” Dixon says. To stay updated on Chris’ journey, follow him at @chrisdixonnc on Instagram or log on to cnstntdvlpmnt.com.
Salute to Chris and every activist getting active. Peace.
Rakeem “Keem” Jones is a community advocate, father of four and the owner of Keem Jones Content Collection. He can be reached at keemjonescontent@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Chris Dixon of Fayetteville, NC is senior shoe designer at Timberland
