Antione Jenkins is a multidimensional and ceilingless creator who makes a name for himself in the local fashion scene working with professional athletes and high-profile musicians.

Jenkins combined artistic expression with his eclectic sense of style and created Antz Creationz, an up-and-coming Twin Cities fashion brand.

Jenkins, 22, is the owner, creative director and designer of Antz Creationz, an online store that sells customized shoes.

His interest in shoes started at a young age. He was a sneakerhead and played basketball in high school, but he didn’t dive into his artistic side until his senior year when he participated in his school’s annual senior art show, submitting multiple pairs of shoes he painted.

After high school, Jenkins attended Valley City State University for a couple of years, where he majored in communications and minored in marketing. He eventually took a year off and never returned because his heart just wasn’t in it. Through an online course about the world of sneakers, Jenkins allowed his creativity to take him on a path of self-discovery.

“I used what I learned from Fashion Institute of Technology, and I was able to use my past experience with customizing shoes, and I combined that with my newfound business and marketing knowledge to create Antz Creationz,” Jenkins said.

The brand’s name originated from Jenkins’ abbreviated first name — Antione — and his belief in keeping his branding simple and straightforward. He chose Creationz because he refuses to box himself in, trying to create multiple forms of fashion, not only shoes.

Jenkins’ brand is fairly new, but due to his eclectic style and creative designs, he’s already caught the eyes of a few notable athletes and artists, including NBA player Gary Trent Jr.

“Within the first three months of me starting my brand, I created shoes for Trent, who revealed them during announcement day via ESPN live, in which he announced he was going to Duke as he unboxed and waved the shoes on camera,” Jenkins said. “This was a statement, and I really thought that if I can reach him, I can reach other people, too.”

Jenkins went on to collaborate with notable artists such as Juice Wrld, G Herbo and Lil Keed, which he did for free because he’d “rather work for free and build a relationship with them.”

Antz Creationz is currently under construction, and Jenkins is working on updating the catalog of his site with his friends’ help.

“Once I’m finished with my shoe designs, I send photos of them to my friends to get their input on if the shoe is hot or not because we’ve been friends for the longest time, so I trust them, and they trust me,” Jenkins said.

Brooklyn Park native Shadrach Subah, 23, better known as Shaddy, is the lead photographer for Antz Creationz. Shaddy’s cousin introduced him to Jenkins during their time as students at North Dakota State University, and they clicked right away.

“Antione hit me up to take pictures of a shoe that he made for NBA player Gary Trent, which was the first project we worked on, and the start of our partnership began,” Shaddy said.

Jenkins fills Antz Creationz with people who emphasize having a good, supportive team, and there’s no shortage of people who make the brand exciting and innovative.

Woodbury native Chris Dummer, 26, has been working with Jenkins as a videographer for two years. He worked on Jenkins’ collaboration with Spyhouse Coffee to create the AC Cooler — a jasmine tea with lemonade and red berries.

“I put together the behind-the-scenes video for the project and shot some footage that was used for marketing leading up to the release of the AC Cooler,” Dummer said.

Dummer also worked on the Cozy shoe release that Antz Creationz released on Nov. 28, 2019. The Cozy shoe was an all-white Air Force 1 that featured pink on the front toe; a pink, furry Nike swoosh; and a jeweled, glittery finish on the heel of the shoe that covers the Nike sign.

Since Antz Creationz’s inception, Jenkins and his partners have created unique projects such as his latest shoe, called the Loon Blazer. A Minnesota-based design, the shoe captures the cold weather and essence of the loon — Minnesota’s state bird — seen through the multiple blue hues and snow-white colorway. The shoestrings were inspired by Travis Scott’s rope shoestrings.

The shoe was successful — so successful that it sold out and is currently out of stock.

Jenkins has come a long way in a short time, and he’s still as hungry as when he first began his brand.

“Follow the story ‘cause y’all are gonna see how authentic we are, and we’re still in the beginning process of our full potential,” Jenkins said. “I have a whole production team, and we’re willing to work with all sorts of artists and any type of entrepreneur because we’re trying to change the culture out here in Minneapolis where people can know that we have a land full of Black creators, creators in general and dope people.”

Correction: The captions of two attached photos originally misspelled Antione Jenkins’ name. They have since been corrected.