At P.F. Flyers, we don’t just make sneakers. We design heritage pieces informed by legacy and engineered to deliver premium comfort, support, and craftsmanship. To capture the journey behind some of our most iconic shoes, we sat down with Design Director Ryan Mauer to dive into the process of creating P.F. Flyers sneakers.
Q: Where do ideas for products start? What sources do you draw inspiration from, and how do you incorporate them into the design process?
Ryan: For P.F., I have been really focusing on looking into our history as the first point of inspiration. I sometimes feel like a historian when I am digging through the archives. Once I have established a pure silhouette that embodies our heritage, I begin storytelling and fashion iterations to bring the sneakers to a broader audience.
Q: Which steps in creating a new product are the most fun? Which are the most challenging, and how do you navigate them?
Ryan: I love building color palettes and developing custom materials. I often spend hours picking a single color or texture for a new product, so it feels great when they come back looking the way I envisioned.
Q: Are there steps in the design process people would be surprised to learn about?
Ryan: Yes, I have a broad range of analog and digital design processes that I use. If you come into my studio, you might see me cutting, sewing, and gluing materials to cobble together a sneaker one day. Another day, you might see me taking a sketch on my tablet and transforming my sketch into a 3d video of the design. I don’t really believe you can time design, so I am always designing in an effort to have a pipeline of ideas that we can curate from, rather than trying to start from scratch each season.
Q: How do you transform an idea into a sketch?
Ryan: I often layer multiple ideas on top of each other to ensure any newness still feels authentic to our brand.
Q: What is the biggest challenge when executing concepts from ideas to physical items? What elements change throughout the process?
Ryan: I am a bit obsessed with material finish and hand, so I am really pushing our manufacturing partners to get these details correct. It can take several iterations.
Q: How do you choose which materials to use? What is the process for sourcing them like?
Ryan: Look at a lot of vintage shops and fashion brands to gain inspiration. I do a lot of shopping in LA, NYC, and Tokyo to find new treasures that I can draw inspiration from. Try to find vendors that have the chops to create something new and have one of the best developers in the industry alongside me to push them to get our products to fruition.
Q: How do products evolve during prototyping? How many versions of a design do you create before deciding on a final product? How does this process strengthen the designs?
Ryan: I think a good designer always tries to get the first proto looking market-ready. There are some designs that take twists and turns. I think one thing that has kept me in the game is that I am able to adapt and quickly move on when something isn’t working and try something new.
Q: P.F. Flyers is a brand with a rich heritage and legacy in American history. What is it like designing for a company with such cultural impact?
Ryan: It feels a bit heavy at times because I want to be a good steward of history but also move the product forward. I love this challenge, and that is why I wanted to work at P.F.
Q: What product has been the most exciting to work on and why?
Ryan: Base Camp: It was the first product I tried to really blend old and new. Really inspired by our military heritage, but more contemporary. I pulled multiple sources of inspiration to get to where I landed on the design, and all of them seemed to work well together.
If these stories from our studio resonated with you, explore our full product lineup. Each collection is designed with the same dedication to innovation and craftsmanship. In every pair of P.F. Flyers, you’ll find thoughtful details and refined accents that honor our brand’s legacy while incorporating breakthrough ideas and contemporary ingenuity.
Each product has its own story. Dive into the full collection now to explore them.
