Meet the Gen-Z artist behind a sick new sneaker collab with Prada

WORDS: Samuel Hine PRODUCER: Saskia Tillers Images courtesy Prada and Instagram/@cass.f1, @casshirst in partnership with

In an industry that’s still deep in thrall with the idea of collaborations, Prada remains famously picky when it comes to working with other labels or designers.

So when Miuccia Prada told the artist Cassius Atticus Hirst that they should create something for Prada together, Cass, as he’s known, reacted as if in a dream.

“Obviously, it didn’t feel real at all,” he recalls via Zoom from his studio in London. But she was serious, and today the 22-year-old's name is on a limited-edition run of Prada America’s Cup sneakers.

Cass doesn’t consider himself a fine artist like his father, legendary British artist Damien Hirst, though he does make paintings. He’s more a Gen-Z creative who throws himself into a wide-ranging set of passion projects and pursuits.

Inspired by a workshop Virgil Abloh did with Nike where participants could paint Air-Force 1s, Cass started buying blank white sneakers and spray painting them with trippy, abstract gradients.

Damien suggested he produce a proper line of his custom kicks, so contacted a family friend who knew a thing or two about fashion production for advice. “[My dad] was like, ‘Oh, maybe I'll just send a photo to Miuccia.’”

Miuccia was impressed. Before long, Cass was painting 80+ pairs of sneakers to come up with four final designs (in 22 colours) that showcased his eye for silky-smooth gradients and subtle textural embellishments.

It took the greater part of a year before Cass felt ready to send the final designs to Milan. “It was nerve-wracking, for sure,” he says.

So, did he ask pops for feedback as he worked on the sneakers? “He’s a good person to have” around, Cass says. “If something's shit then he'll probably say so.”

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