We recently caught up with Mark McNairy in the midst of his DQM collaboration to answer a few questions for us. The designer breaks down the collaboration for us in a quick five minutes and in five questions. The project includes three exclusive shoe designs, a Navy Suede Long Wing Brogue, a Black Suede Chukka Boot, and a Grey Suede Cap Derby Boot which all feature McNairy’s signature details such as the red brick and crepe soles, as well as a skateboard deck. Look for the shoes and skate deck now at DQM.

Hit the flip to read the interview.

Culture Shoq: How did the collaboration between yourself and DQM come up?

Mark McNairy: Being almost 50 years old, I had never heard of the shop. Someone introduced me to Kyle Demers. I liked the name of the shop, checked it out, and the process began.

CS: Talk about the skateboard added into the collaboration, why did you guys decide to add those to the shoe lineup?

MM: It just seemed to tie the whole collaboration together.

CS: Was it difficult designing a set of shoes for essentially a “skate” shop?

MM: No. I didn’t think of it as a skate shop. I like what they’re doing, and think it a cool shop.

CS: Talk about the Red Brick Soul inspiration for the collection.

MM: The whole thing started with trying to make the perfect dirty and white bucks, then experimenting with putting the red brick soles on other classic shoes.

CS: Would you advise skating in the shoes?

MM: Yes. Trash them and buy more.