Costume designer Allyson Fanger spoke to FN about the presence of sneakers in the two comedy series.Costume designer Allyson Fanger spoke to FN about the presence of sneakers in the two comedy series.
Did sneakerheads or “Star Wars” fans ever think they’d see the day Harrison Ford wore the Air Jordan 3 Retro “Doernbecher XIX” sneakers? Well, the day arrived thanks to the Apple TV series “Shrinking.”
Costume designer Allyson Fanger’s work has become particularly sporty lately thanks to the newest seasons of “Shrinking” and the Netflix series “Running Point,” both comedies with major star power attached.
Courtesy of Allyson Fanger
“Shrinking,” which follows Jason Segel as a widowed therapist named Jimmy, weaves sneakers into season three with a subplot related to side character Matthew, played by Markus Silbiger, a son of Jimmy’s neighbors Liz and Derek, played by Christa Miller and Ted McGinley, respectively.
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Matthew finds himself getting into the lucrative sneaker resale market after he flips one pair to buy a few others, including a Nike Air Jordan 1 Low SE he gifts to his grandmother, played by Candace Bergman. (She asks if “the little jumping guy on the tongue” is new, in reference to the famous Jumpman logo.)
Fanger revealed that the sneaker subplot was loosely inspired by Henry Lawrence, the real-life son of Christa Miller (who also serves as music supervisor) and showrunner Bill Lawrence. Henry has a passion for sneaker collecting, and naturally, was a big help with this storyline.
In episode eight of season three, Matthew’s family and friends want to support his burgeoning business, so they’re shown wearing a variety of fresh kicks — ranging from baby Sutton wearing red and white Nike Dunk Lows to Harrison Ford in his aforementioned style. “He was very on board with that,” Fanger said of the shoes worn by Ford. “He’s really opinionated about everything. So I made sure that I had a little nice collection. And he just went for the funniest pair, which I was so happy about.”
Of the brands represented in the show, Fanger said, “We definitely leaned Nike heavy because of the whole resale market.” But that wasn’t the only name present — you could also find Jimmy’s teenage daughter Alice, played by Lukita Maxwell, in a metallic Puma x Ottolinger style.
Courtesy of Apple
On selecting the sneakers the cast would wear, Fanger said, “I curated a small collection for each character that I thought worked for the character. Brian’s [played by Michael Urie] were much more flamboyant, like color [’24 Wizard of Oz x Dunk Low SB ‘Poppy Field’]. Derek, we went for a more classic Air Jordan, but we gave him the [Air Jordan 1 Mid SE] ‘Cheeseburger’ one because it’s kind of goofy, it just works with his character.”
Showcasing her character’s “cool” factor, Liz wore the Travis Scott Air Jordan One Retro Low Canary — the hardest shoe to find among the lineup — and the Nike Low Dunk Disrupt as well. Additional sneakers included Brian’s husband Charlie in the pink and orange 2023 Powerpuff Girls x Dunk Low Pro SB “Blossom” style; Sean (Luke Tennie) in the 2022 Air Jordan 1 Retro High OG “Yellow Toe”; and Derek in the 2025 Dunk Low SB “Rodeo” and the Travis Scott Air Force 1 Low “Cactus Jack.”
But “Shrinking” isn’t the only show bringing Fanger closer to the sneaker world. She is also the costume designer for “Running Point,” which follows Kate Hudson’s character Isla as she becomes president of a professional basketball team. Given the premise, sneakers are naturally a major part of the costuming. For instance, in the recently released season two, Puma provided blue Speedcats for the dancers who support the fictional team known as the Los Angeles Waves.
Just like Fanger’s approach for “Shrinking,” the shoe choices for “Running Point” are very character-oriented.
For Ness, played by Scott MacArthur, one of Isla’s brothers, sneakers play a key role in character building since he used to play basketball. “He really needed to have cool sneakers, because as a real player, sneakers would be something that he really cared about, right? He wore Air Jordans and Dunks mainly, the cool ones.”
Katrina Marcinowski/Netflix
Chet Hanks’ character Travis, one of the professional basketball players, is also a sneaker fan. “He wore mostly Nike retro high tops and Jordans. And he’s himself. He likes sneakers a lot too. So he liked to pick that also.”
Fanger discussed how important footwear is to character development and acting — even though shoes don’t usually get the spotlight.
“I’m really detail oriented with my characters,” the costume designer said. “It has to be head to toe, even if we never see the shoe. The shoe makes a huge difference for me because it just completes the outfit. It helps the actor. They can feel like their entire outfit is working.”
