Nicholas Hixon designs handcrafted shoes for confident women.
Brookhaven resident Nicholas Hixon has always held creative roles, working in interior and environmental design and architecture. A competition by the International Design Association’s Atlanta chapter in 2012 changed his perspective on his chosen metier. There, professionals were challenged to create fashion outfits from materials used in the design industry, such as wood flooring and upholstery fabric. “I noticed these teams were creating cool, over the-top outfits, but shoes were not part of that,” he says. “I had an idea: What if we built a pair of shoes [out of design industry materials]?”
Hixon admits he had no idea how to accomplish this for the competition, but he was willing to try. That process gave him more than he realized. “I saw a very different creative side to myself, and it was one of the first times in my career that I had felt like I had full creative freedom,” he says.
Energized by that feeling and by the idea of designing shoes, Hixon dabbled in shoe design while continuing to climb the corporate ladder. (He’s currently a senior creative director at the brand experience agency Sparks.) When artificial intelligence became mainstream, he finally felt he had a vehicle to help him sketch out his ideas. “AI helped fuel my creative energy,” he says. “I then began to wonder if I could actually have these shoe designs made.”
When pondering the idea a few years ago, he came across a global design competition in early 2024. “I didn’t want to put my work out there because I had been using AI. It wasn’t real. I had all this self-doubt,” he says. But he entered anyway and ended up being one of six international winners. The prize: a trip to Amsterdam to learn from master cobblers and shoe designers René van den Berg and Kobi Levi.
Hixon seized the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and learned how to properly make shoes, which he calls an “insanely tedious process, although an unbelievably rewarding and creative one as well.” In late 2024, he debuted his women’s shoe line, Adeline. The consummate creative looks for inspiration everywhere, and his first pair of shoes was inspired by a pile of laundry.
The name Adeline comes from a song by the artist Robyn. In “Dancing on my Own,” she says, “I’m so out of line.” Hixon adopted that off-center philosophy and twisted it into the company name and the persona of the woman who wears his shoes. Focused on limited-edition bespoke shoe drops and custom creations, Adeline offers heels, booties and soon, a pair of flats. Hixon uses Italian leather, suede and other materials, and works with global manufacturers, using family-owned factories that make the shoes by hand. The brand is rooted in color, texture and comfort, and prices begin at $369. Styles include the Chloe Mary Jane pump, a textured twist on a classic midcentury silhouette, and Byrdie, an ankle-bootie wrapped in heritage tartan with a contrasting metallic spike heel. The new flat design, named Eero after Saarinen, one of Hixon’s favorite architects, is inspired by the TWA terminal at New York’s Kennedy International Airport.
Hixon also offers a custom option. Buyers collaborate with him on designing their dream shoe, and Hixon can produce it in about six weeks. “My buyers are confident, and their shoes are a reflection of their personalities,” he says.
ADELINE
soadeline.com
@soadelinedesigns
PHOTO: Erik Meadows
