DESIGN WEEK - RE-INVENTING SHOES

Re-Inventing Shoes is part of The Milan Design Week, one of the world’s biggest and most influential design events, and I felt incredibly lucky to be able to witness some of its most beautiful designs. This particular project is about ‘exploring and pushing the boundaries of this rapidly developing technology by creating shoes with the largest amount of sculptural freedom’. UNITED NUDE, a design company specialising in high heels, have figured out a way of combining hard and soft 3D printed parts for creating fully functioning shoes - when I first heard about this exhibition I thought the shoes would be made from a stiff plastic material which would make walking impossible, however I was surprised to see that the shoes were actually created using a foam-like material. Each shoe design will also be available for a limited edition purchase, as there will only be about 50 pairs made.

A selected group of 5 of the world’s leading designers and architects have explored and challenged 3D printing technology by designing a pair of ladies high heels for the Re-Inventing Shoes project, including:

Ben van Berkel / UNStudio - Architect

Zaha Hadid - Architect

Ross Lovegrove - Product Designer

Fernando Romero - Architect

Michael Young - Product Designer

This exhibition, along with the White Shirt, has been my favoured so far as, even though it was small, it was beautifully set out - a dark room with several pillars that were lit up, drawing focus only to the shoes, with carefully selected and equally moving music. At the back of the room there was a booth playing a minimal video on a loop of models wearing each of the five designs. I also got to meet one the designers - Ross Lovegrove - who was eagerly talking about his work and stay in Milan. Being a fashion student and a shoe-lover, it was incredible to be able to see shoes made by Iris Van Herpen in real life, as I never thought I’d get the chance to see them up close - my favorites have to include ‘Wilderness Embodied’ and ‘Fang’. Other than that I absolutely loved Zaha Hadid’s design as the shoes looked amazing and fierce on the model in the video.

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As this is my last post I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on the experience so far and how it has changed me. So the disastrous but extremely fun and cultural trip to Rome and Florence really inspired and urged me to do more traveling and gain more experiences, as before I didn’t really buy into the whole idea of going travelling. However I’ve had the most amazing time and definitely learned a few things the hard way, but at least I’ll be prepared for next time. I think the experience has made me more independent, savvy and more patient - sharing a room can be hard work. It’s definitely made me more curious about fashion, design, architecture, art and food - our flatmates taught us how to make a traditional Indian dish which we ate with our hands - and made me more outgoing. Politecnico also made me look at the standard of work I’ve been producing for uni and made me strive to push myself more in terms of learning new softwares and skills, and wanting to produce higher standard of work.

Ammonite

Fernando Romero

'This shoe uses the most cutting-edge 3D printing technology both in design and execution, but the result is a shoe that could have been an object found in nature, a delicate fossil that has been buried on the bottom of the ocean for millennia.’

Wilderness Embodied

Iris Van Herpen

Ilabo

Ross Lovegrove

‘I have used this project to establish a moment where physical innovation in materials density and layered matrix node structuring, are coalesced to enhance the sensuality of the female form whilst remaining clearly technological.’

'The production method used is the highest quality of 3D printing (SelectiveLaser Sintering) in a hard Nylon and all-new soft Rubber material.'

Flat Pack Shoe

United Nude

Mobius Shoe Concepts

1999 - 2001

Thorn

Iris Van Herpen

Fang

Iris Van Herpen

UNX2

Ben van Berkel / UNStudio

‘We were particularly interested in the kinds of images the shoe could create, both when static and when in motion. The UNX2 shoe creates patterns of movement and produces a dynamic form of image-making through motion.’

Flames

Zaha Hadid

‘The sculptural sensibility and experimentation of Hadid’s architectural language and United Nude’s expertise in manufacturing the most innovative designs has embodied the shoe with the essence of fire - delicate and ephemeral, yet compelling and dynamic.’

YOUNG Shoe

Michael Young

‘Working on this project has allowed us a unique opportunity to explore and expand within a rare dimension. Combined with our own extensive experience in 3D technology we have created a refreshing approach to the way a shoe may be, can be perceived.’

Lo Res Pump

United Nude

#Reinventingshoes #designweek #ZahaHadid #BenvanBerkel #RossLovegrove #FernandoRomero #MichaelYoung #IrisVanHerpen #UnitedNude