A Permanent Playground
During a recent trip to São Paulo, Colm Dillane, the mind behind KidSuper, turned an ordinary soccer pitch into an open‑air gallery. Working alongside Havaianas, he painted the field with bold graphics that echo the rhythm of the game and the brand’s signature flip‑flop aesthetic.
Dillane’s connection to Brazil stretches back to his days living in Bahia, where he followed Esporte Clube Vitória and absorbed the local love for football. That personal history fuels his belief that the sport is more than competition; it is a shared language that can anchor public spaces.
The artwork is designed to be interactive, inviting players to mark the surface, to gather, and to leave their own imprint. By embedding the piece in a real community venue, Dillane hopes it will outlive the seasonal release of the Havaianas sneakers and become a permanent fixture of everyday life.
A short documentary captured by Dillane himself will debut in September, offering a behind‑the‑scenes look at the creative process and the cultural dialogue he sparked on the field. The project follows an earlier runway presentation in Paris, where a green velvet flip‑flop paid homage to soccer pitches, setting the stage for this public expansion.
The collaboration signals a return to Brazil for the designer, who sees the country as both muse and home. The installation bridges fashion, sport and urban art, suggesting that a simple pair of sandals can spark a larger conversation about place, identity and the spaces we share.