We are a community of designers, artists, filmmakers, and producers. We collaborate to make projects that feel fun and meaningful. And then we share them with you.

We support these projects by making and selling shoes and merch that feel ugly, comfy, and cool.

We consider aesthetic, material, and functional integrity in our design and manufacturing process.

We work with partner brands on events and special projects to support emerging artists.

You can support us in a few different ways. Are you an individual? Check out our tabi sneakers, or tell your friends about us! Are you a nonprofit, brand, or corporation that would like to collaborate? Let's talk!

Wanna be friends? Email us: DM@ILYSM.COM

ILYSM debuted with a feminist film series, launched in New York City in October 2019. We just dropped a limited edition tabi sneaker in December 2019.

What are we working on? We have a few things up our sleeves. Upcoming projects include short films, screenings, zines, more sneakers and merch, design collaborations, and parties…

We value authenticity, warmth & emotion, aesthetic differentiation, and powerful narrative storytelling.

We were just born. Check back later for more.

ILYSM is committed to ethical low impact production and high impact initiatives, balancing quality and longevity of product with responsibly sourcing materials. Our future initiatives are focused on lowering our carbon footprint and moving towards a circular supply chain.

To produce the sneaker, ILYSM partnered with an innovative footwear studio in Guangzhou, China, that pays its workers a competitive salary and provides housing and meals for employees and their families. The average wage at our factory is 3.44x the minimum wage in in Guangzhou, China.

Our engineered knit uppers are produced on Shima Seiki Wholegarment machines, saving 30% of waste material over traditional sneaker upper construction.

While our upper knitting process is automated and high tech (with technician oversight), the rest of the process is touched by human hands every step of the way.

It’s easy to picture a factory full of machines and robots producing your sneakers, but the truth is that the process of assembling is incredibly labor intensive.

Although we eliminate steps in the manufacturing process by utilizing digital knitting and laser cutting in our upper construction process, your sneaker still passes through 31 stations; up to 135 workers touch each sneaker during the assembly process: knitting, stitching, cutting, lasting, gluing, refining, checking quality, and packaging, and many, many more have touched each raw component before it reaches you.

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We use recycled, low impact, and naturally derived materials whenever possible, weighing the sustainability/impact of the material with the durability and aesthetic function of the design as a whole.

Our tabi sneaker upper yarn is spun by a mill in Guangdong, China, which specializes in natural, traceable, and sustainable products. Our first tabi style is constructed from Oeko Tex 100 and GRS 4.0 certified yarn of 50% recycled polyester, 40% viscose, and 10% silk.

The footbed is cushioned by a layer of felted Australian mulesing-free merino wool and supported by two layers of recycled foam. The upper is lined with Umorfil™ Beauty Fiber, a sensitive-skin-friendly, biodegradable material synthesized from recycled fish scales and viscose.

Our first tabi sock is knit with bamboo, a sustainable and renewable fiber with a silky, comfy handfeel.

We are ILYSM and we want to help.

We’re a community of creatives, and it's our mission to support artists and give them the opportunities they deserve. We launched our brand and creative studio in December 2019 - we’re finding our footing in the world as we make sneakers and merch to support our mission.

We are artists, filmmakers, writers, designers, freelancers. We know what it’s like to live paycheck to paycheck, and we know our community is struggling right now. We recognize that art is a meaningful form of comfort - especially in such times of crisis. We’re a tiny new brand, but we want to do what we can to support you all.

We will be giving a weekly $500 grant to an artist with financial need whose main source of income has been affected by COVID-19 shutdowns.

-> Click here to apply to our last open call week (of this round) of the ILYSM4Artists Grant! We're proud to be coming up on the 12th week of our grant initiative. We are extending this week's application timeline. Please submit your application and IG post by noon EST on Thursday 7/9. <-

Follow along with the submissions at #ILYSM4Artists #ILYSM4ArtistsWeek12 on instagram.

We’re working on other ways we can support you as well. Stay tuned - more to come.

Thoughts, questions, ideas? Please check our FAQs on our story highlights & follow along @ilysm.jpg for daily updates. Email us DM@ilysm.com

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