In the ever‑shifting world of sneaker design, few stories feel as real, as gritty—and as quietly bold—as Studio Hagel’s. From humble coffee‑laden introductions to testaments of creative stubbornness, this Dutch footwear atelier has quietly rewritten the rules. Our recent interview with them reveals an ethos rooted in radical self‑belief, experimental spectacle, and community building that refuses to rely on runway approval.
A Studio Born From “No”
The founding myth is deeply human: no one would hire them. With no formal fashion education and armed only with sales chops and fierce conviction, studio founder Mathieu Hagelaars—who opens the interview with winsome disarmament—decides to build their own path. “I believe I can do it,” he says, and so began a decade‑long odyssey of knocking on doors over coffee, slowly earning trust by sheer persistence.
That hunger drove them to pursue design work for a diverse array of global brands, including Puma, Virgil Abloh, and numerous silent collaborators, spanning from concept to fully fledged product development. But beneath the polished collaborations lay an equally fierce internal dialogue about pushing creative limits. This is what Studio Hagel calls the sneaker experiments: radical, boundary‑testing visual ideas that interrogate “How far can you push a sneaker?”
The Monstro & Maker Monday: Where Legend Meets Trial
One of the standout stories is the genesis of the “Monstro”—a sculptural, monstrous sneaker that feels ripped from a childhood cartoon collision between Ghostbusters, Power Rangers, and Dungeons & Dragons. Envisioning an exaggerated creature with towering spikes, the team teamed up with HP’s professional 3D‑printing lab and went wild. The process was intuitive, spontaneous: concept to mockup in under an hour, then physical 3D form shortly after. “The more extreme I got, the more eye‑catching it became,” Mathieu reflects. Without a client or client rules, they had creative inertia on their side.
This type of work became their signature during Maker Monday, a personal project series where nothing had to be polished or wear‑ready. The promise was simple: total freedom. The payoff? Every outrageous design echoed online and drew eyes from beyond the footwear industry.
Trusting Intuition Over Imposter Syndrome
Throughout the discussion, the founder circles back to the same refrain: stay close to yourself. Even amid collaboration with creative heavyweights like Virgil Abloh, imposter syndrome whispered doubt. But the psychology was simple: stay focused on what you know and love doing. Trust your gut. Align your craft to your values. The result is authentic work that changes the conversation.
Indeed, when Virgil invited them to make his Florence show’s shoe—then later an entire men’s footwear collection—the team relied not on pedigree, but on conviction. Though panic briefly seized them (“Can I do this?”), They leaned on their innate style, sketching and iterating until the work spoke back. In the words of another industry luminary: “he’s asking you for your Makers Monday style,” meaning authenticity triumphs imitation.
Community as Creative Currency
One unexpected revelation was how Studio Hagel’s community evolved. Initially, an anonymous ghost‑studio working behind the scenes, they gradually built a connection online and IRL. The founder describes Instagram comments flooding in, invitations to workshops, and a WhatsApp group that sparkles with creative exchange. This grew from simple sincerity: “I’m the same guy whether I’m meeting a fan or someone at the supermarket,” they say. No airs, no hierarchy—just open dialogue and friendship.
That ethos now culminates in their 10th anniversary plans: an exhibition showcasing over 120 Maker Monday projects, including the Monstros, early failures, and everything in between. It will be part design retrospective, part workshop, part open‑invitation party. A way to make the intangible tangible, and to welcome their community into the Studio Hagel world with transparency.
Looking Forward: Tangibility, Release, Dialogue
As the interview concludes, it’s clear that for this studio, design is more than product—it’s a living organism. They are now working towards physical releases, community‑based events, and more open dialogue. They’ll continue to question limits, to celebrate experiments, and to act as both ghost‑makers for brands and visible creators in their own right.
They say their favorite design is still “the sneaker”—because it remains endlessly evolving. With new materials, techniques, and rapid prototyping, there’s always undiscovered territory. Perhaps it’s a cliché to say “the thing you love the most is still it,” but for Studio Hagel, sincerity does scale: through radical experiments, collaborations, and a community that’s now stepping from DM chatter into exhibition‑floor gravity.
Watch the full interview below:
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