my shoe personal dream shoes for the real world
design, editor Michael Frederiksen, Spin Doc Design
photos Michael Frederiksen and the student groups
ISBN 978-87-90775-27-8
© 2011
kolding school of design Ågade 10 6000 Kolding +45 76301100 dk@designskolenkolding.dk www.designskolenkolding.dk
department of product design Head of Department - Mathilde Aggebo Lecturers – Marianne Britt Jørgensen, Ulla Ræbild, Joy Boutrup and Michael Frederiksen
my shoe This book was printed with support from ECCO. The my shoe workshop is part of the strategic collaboration between Kolding School of Design and ECCO.
my shoe is a project run under the auspices of Kolding School of Design’s Laboratory for Design and Sustainability. The school’s laboratories develop new teaching methods and forms of communication and create space to experiment, think in new ways and work with challenging new ideas. The laboratory is supported by Erhvervs- og Byggestyrelsen and The European Fund for Regional Development through Vækstforum/Region Syddanmark.
to do a shoe
at kolding school of design we like
shoes so much that we have wanted to repeat last year’s success of creating a joint educational programme with ECCO on designing shoes. The result is displayed in this publication. But why shoe design? Because shoe design lies in the exciting cross field of construction requirements, textile use and interpretation of fashion trends. These requirements mean that as a shoe designer you need to know how to create three-dimensional shape, you need to know about textile qualities and you need to know how to translate current trends into actual shoe fashion – in other words, shoe design is an exemplary starting point for a collaboration between students of fashion, textile and industrial design. In terms of construction shoe design is challenging. Shoes must be able to carry the weight of a human being, and they are essentially sculptural, threedimensional objects that, as opposed to clothes, keep their original shape – also when the user is not
Mette Strømgaard Dalby Head of Development Kolding School of Design
wearing them. However, first and foremost, shoes are part of the fashion image and its eternal re-circulating system of sources of inspiration from various historical eras. Fashion is fundamentally changeable and relates knowingly or unknowingly to that which exists and is angled, deconstructed and merged in order for a new fashion to emerge, phoenix-like, from its ashes. Thus, the paradox of fashion is that you often look to the past in order to become visionary, and a great number of renown designers have done so and revitalised fashion and created interest in the trends of past times, e.g. the courageous interpretation of the tournoure and the Victorian Age by Vivienne Westwood and the advanced versioning of the tartan kilt by Alexander McQueen. On rare occasions, something unique emerges, like when Coco Chanel revolted at the corset and used the soft jersey textile to design a more practical and pleasant women’s fashion, or when Yves Saint Laurent created his own interpretation of classic men’s wear for women: Le Smoking. However, as stated,
it often involves some form of reutilisation. Being a design historian of course makes you take this view on fashion – and you triumph and marvel whenever you detect a reference to the (shoe) design of past times, whether the reference is deliberate or not. As with all knowledge it is not necessarily interesting in itself, but when you can use (design) historical knowledge to reflect on the present, this gives all of us a larger foundation to debate from than the tendentious and the “arbiter of taste” one, and allows us to rise above hollow statements such as “blue is the new black”. The assignment this year was to design flats, which in itself presented a challenge to most, since, undeniably, high heels invite you to play with the sculptural. However, most interesting were the many sources of inspiration, which were as varied as the number of students. One student made an interpretation of the classic Oxford men’s shoe but was inspired by deconstructing the shoe as if to make
room for an extra toe. This brought back life to English Renaissance fashion. Renaissance fashion dictated wide shoes in an exaggerated version: up to 17 centimetres wide. Word has it that the French King Charles VIII might be responsible for the wide shoe fashion as he was supposedly born with six toes on each foot. The wide shoes were referred to as “scarpines” or “bear paws”. Mary, Queen of Scots, felt that the shoes signalled greed and vanity to a degree that mid 16th century, she outlawed the use of the shoes. Talk about the power of fashion! Another student merged the comfortable sneaker with the feminine ballerina and created a shoe for the prima ballerinas of the asphalt jungle. Yet another student designed a reinterpretation of the 1950s classic ”Desert boot” by English Clarks. And yet another felt the inspiration of the golden age of jazz: the style and the mood surrounding icons such as Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington and literally designed soles with mu-
sic in them. Overall, the student designs were versatile, exciting and surprising, but judge for yourself – the very idea behind this book is to display the project results with the intent to inspire others with an interest in and passion for shoe design. Like last year, the shoe project is a collaboration between the Department of Product Design and the Laboratory for Design, Innovation and Sustainability at Kolding School of Design. The Laboratory serves as a bridge-builder between the school and external partners. The Laboratory develops new teaching methods and ways to disseminate, and the place intends to be a playground for the realisation of innovative ideas. The Laboratory is also part of The Fashion Zone; an experience zone working to ensure a common platform for Danish fashion collaboration and strengthen the growth potential for Danish fashion internationally. Kolding School of Design has chosen to let shoes be one of its primary focus areas within fashion because our geographi-
cal location gives us a close relation to a number of Danish shoe manufacturers. Collaborating with the business community provides the students with experience in relating to the demands presented by “the real world”. The educational programme was carried out in close collaboration with ECCO, and their long-time experience as a shoe manufacturer and global player has served the project well. The collaboration is a win-win situation: the students receive qualified feedback from competent and dedicated shoe designers who work in a commercial reality and ECCO benefits from the innovative student ideas. Without a doubt experience and knowledge of the commercial aspects of shoe production are necessary in order to maintain a position as successful shoe designer. However, sometimes, not knowing these limitations can push design in new directions. A little bit like a bumblebee flying when, technically, it is not supposed to be able to… it just does not know. Thank you to everyone involved with the project.
kasper schwartz one of three casual shoes in the collection, and probably the one with the most visible coherence/correlation theme. The shoe is constructed as a “flow” of lines, which more or less all correlate in some way, mostly by being parallel or continued/connected with each other. It consists of three characteristic “fields”, which can be more or less expressive depending on the colour, stitches and material. The sole is divided into two parts both interacting with the lines of the upper. As mentioned, the general appearance of the shoe can vary greatly from a very neutral and low-key look; e.g. with same/low contrast colours all over the upper field, as opposed to a more lively and dramatic look; e.g. with parallel quilts in contrast colours inside the three fields and a highlighted line running along curtain edges of the fields underlining the whole coherence aspect of the shoe.
christin flux
flat shoe without laces, inspired by stones and rocks
wearable from spring to fall
naija nygaard
ballet shoe and sneaker combined. The rubber
sole, the toe and the structure of the shoe bear an obvious resemblance to the sneaker.
the laces cross in the front and tie around the ankle in various ways or order to hint at inspiration from the ballet shoe. The pleated panels make you think of sportswear or dancing when the woman’s dress clings to the body, creating beautiful pleats. The materials are leather, rubber and cotton lace.
jacob bro
the ox shoe is inspired by Hans J. Wegner’s Ox Chair. It is a cognac-coloured leather shoe with a round toe and black laces made of ox hide with vstitches around the edge. The sole is moulded in natural rubber.
sally laug
the story of the shoe is the story of the boy who sleeps in and misses
school. He has one foot in bed and the other one in the classroom. The classic pyjamas-striped toe and leg is a visualisation of this division. The rest of the shoe is inspired by a classic, plain boy’s shoe. The striped areas are suede, and the boy’s shoe is thick leather. The choice of materials underlines the difference between soft bed sheets and the hardness of a school desk. The striped suede is nude and beige to further emphasise the delicacy and vulnerability as opposed to the thick leather, which gives associations to an old-fashioned school bag. The plain heel is covered in suede in the same colour as the leather and has an unpretentious incline at the back. It is effortless and aimed at both men and women. In principle the shoe is a boot because when it is not folded the suede leg ends just below the knee. However, the leg should be considered more as a thick sock in a shoe.
maria lyhne grønaa
peel me is a merge between a newly emerged fascination with almond peels and a secret desire to explore the possibilities of porcelain clay.
as I was skinning hundreds of almonds for Christmas, I wondered how it would feel like to slip my bare foot into one of these wet almond peels. I imagined how the peel would sensually surround my foot with it’s beautiful and organic texture. I studied the wet peels while they dried and watched them closely as the colour changed from a vibrant, moist and warm brown, to a dusty, crisp and grayish umber. I wanted to keep them wet.
the shoe is made from 100% Italian leather and decorated with raw porcelain raindrops.
emil jacobsen mea sara renner andresen alexander katchen sehested a danish collection
the task
Mathilde Aggebo Head of Department of Product Design Kolding School of Design Michael Frederiksen Industrial Designer Spin Doc Design
in order to acquire knowledge of the demands
and expectations which the business community has for designers Kolding School of Design makes a priority of collaborating closely with the companies that are eventually going to employ the school’s graduates. Hence, collaboration with industry is an integral part of the school’s design education. During this process the students learn the significance of all aspects of a company and of developing a product from idea to customer. It is one thing to have a great outline for a product, but what happens next? How do you mature a product using prototypes? How do you develop new expressions to fit a given production environment, and how do you read different markets? What are internal sales? And how are roles divided between the designer and the brand manager? Strategic collaboration agreement This is the second consecutive year that the Department of Product Design has collaborated with ECCO. The project also marks the entrance of a
strategic collaboration agreement between the school and ECCO; something we are very proud of. The agreement states that for the next three years Kolding School of Design and ECCO will work closely on developing new knowledge within the design field. We will also conduct a number of educational programmes during which the students will solve concrete design tasks for ECCO, and ECCO will receive internship students from Kolding School of Design. In other words, we will work on our joint interests. One of these is educating top designers who understand the interplay between art and commerce and who can support growth by bringing design to the companies.
was actually quite hard locating any kind of void in their product portfolio for this project to fill. However, it is obvious that for ECCO, as well as for a lot of other companies, getting across to the young, trendsetting customer segment is crucial: the opinion formers, the growth layer, the future generation of loyal ECCO customers. Therefore, we asked the students to draw a collection of shoes based on themselves as the target group. The students of the school represent just this critical, disloyal, design conscious, young segment of buyers that most companies have a burning desire to reach, and we state the claim that if these young design students like the shoes, there is a good chance other young people will.
Target Group: Me ECCO develops, produces and sells shoes for a wide audience; shoes for the large and the small, the city chic, the old-fashioned, the sporty and the ones who just want to be comfortable. The company meets a wide demand for footwear needs and it
The only other limitation we set up was to design flat shoes without any significant height to the heel. This limitation was set up to make the assignment fit ECCO’s actual brand, which is more about comfort and usability than haute couture.
Who am I? Offhand, designing shoes for yourself sounds easy: Finally, a task with unlimited possibilities of realising your wildest dreams of footwear self representation without untimely interference from customers or reference groups with another (and less sophisticated) taste than your own. It opens an opportunity to shine through your very own personal look. And finally, an invitation to get right into it not having to spend any time on target group analyses, user-involvement, market research and all the other compulsory pressups which begin most design processes. Yes! However, naturally, this apparent freedom of limitless creation is a double-edged sword: the absence of external resistance leaves the designer limited only by his or her own capabilities and thus forces the designer to face the creative process alone without any externally imposed peg on which to hang choices and aesthetic decisions. If the designer takes freedom seriously it represents a merciless mirror showing the professional wants and inadequacies that can oth-
erwise be far too easily attributed to a conservative customer, an unqualified target group or other convenient external excuses for not living up to your own standards of what it means to be a groundbreaking young design comet. However, equally undisguised, the mirror discloses the designer’s own strength and this is invaluable to the student’s process of finding his or her own personal standpoint. Soul-searching and self reflection, expressed in working consciously with your own personal mode of expression, is in every way an educational dream scenario. The other limitation of the project – the flat heel – has been the opportunity for expression which the designer has been able to perform against, and has been the one point of orientation which has sustained the project as a design task and not as a display of free artistic creation. As predicted, the limitation has increased the level of difficulty of the assignment: Without a doubt, it is easier to design a beautiful shoe if the designer is allowed to use the high heel to create an effect in terms of shape and semantics. The fact that some of the designers have
not managed to stay away from the high heel only testifies to its magnetism. The Projects The project result is a collection of sketches and finished shoe designs that remain firmly on the ground whilst taking a daring step into the near future. Prepare for shoes with black-mottled cowlick toes, shoes for mutated six-year-old feet, super sneakers, concrete soles, jazz boots looking the way Miles Davis sounded in the eighties, shoes for Willumsen’s mountain climber anno 2012, shoes as flower leaves and sanitary towels, nostalgic shoes filled with childhood memories, shoes for car lovers, plaited shoes, shoes with wooden soles and Scandinavian light, adventurous shoes, hairy fur shoes – you name it! Some are couture-like and experimental, others commercial and ready for production. All in all, the collections display the bubbling potential of the next generation of shoe designers to be enjoyed by the many wearers – including the designers themselves.
krista neergaard-holm jazz. An evergreen solution. Transformed military boot with improvised layers leaving footprints of sound complexity and composition.
emilia weir lena krogsgaard laura trzebuchowska
the takorluugaq collection
Sikut, Qanik, Issoq, Inuak, Aperlaaq, Kinguleraq.
made from sustainable materials: PLA, wood waste, organic cotton and polyester. No dyeing
ida gro christiansen
i have a dream of one day throwing just about all of my stuff away. The more things I can get rid of, the greater the sense of freedom. With this sandal I have focused on gaining as much shape as possible from a textile technique. The stitching of the leather forms close lines to create the illusion of circles matching the shape of the foot. Offhand, the sandal has an unsophisticated look, but the contrast of the materials brings life to it. The shiny patent leather on the upper part of the sandal draws attention to the pattern of the lines and the interruption of the horizontal lines. The sandal is lined with soft glove skin. Combined with the wood on the sole this makes it wonderful to even touch the sandal. All the details of the sandal are simple and stylish in order to allow the leatherwork to stand out.
sara bartels vitor astrid karup dinesen meg held riin k천iv
scandinavian
organic
inside outside
geometrical
osmund olsen
“no bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings� William Blake
kristina mielec
kitt dusinia jensen stine lundgaard w. nielsen lĂŚrke marie valum
mathilde is a sandal designed for Scandinavian summers. The large ribbons go all the way around the sole and help create the clumsy look and display the power that defines the collection.  The angular toe of all three designs is inspired by the cow’s angular muzzle with the two nostrils. The soft rubber sole and the rubber heel represent references to the mats and wellingtons you would encounter in a stable but also give the designs more of an urban look. The back part helps create the illusion of a heel. The enclosed plateau makes the designs seem taller and gives them that feminine and clumsy look while allowing for the possibility of making an ergonomic sole with excellent shockabsorption.
martha is designed for the transition period in spring when a little bit of air around your feet is nice but you do not want to be cold.
hilde is a flat ankle boot and has a bit of a clumsy look. However, the clumsy expression is in contrast to the soft, feminine materials interrupted by a notable cowlick at the toe.
line rosenlund jensen
men’s inspired shoe
Large black bow in layers. Matt metal ring. Butter-coloured ribbon. Shiny dark toe. Bright leather sole.
julie damhus maj hesby roeleven sandra lynder franck
contrasts are largely what define this shoe. It is inspired by the remaining wool left on the sheep just after it has been shorn. The sheep is trimmed quickly and without grace leaving the skin rough and with an uneven trim. The shiny surface of the lacquer is flawless. It shines as if new and radiates never having been used or exposed to the elements. Â
the all-encompassing lacquer is what characterises
this shoe. Just like thick candle wax it shrouds the bright, delicate leather. It tries to breathe through the cracks. The shape is simple and focus is on the material. Screws make it look as if it is bolted, and the only opening is at the back – a hidden zipper.
the sandal design is based on the fine wool
of the sheep and the sandal moves dynamically with the foot. The hairs create waves of naturalness. They wrap around the instep of the foot and play with the wind. The front of the sandal is significantly contrasted by the bulky sole consisting of yellowish industrial rubber. The heel has been subdued and marked by other materials. This shows in blows and discolorations.
freedom to innovate
Jakob Møller Hansen, Head of Department ECCO Design Center Ejnar Truelsen, Chief Designer ECCO Design Center
design is the freedom to dream. The freedom to innovate. The passion and determination to turn dreams into reality. Passion, freedom and innovation are core values of ECCO. ECCO’s founder, Karl Toosbuy, developed a range of truly innovative products and introduced pioneering production methods. Throughout his long career, Karl Toosbuy constantly challenged himself and others, be it staff, suppliers or customers, to do things better, faster, differently. This spirit of innovation continues in ECCO’s collaboration with the Kolding School of Design. The design students are enthusiastic and competent, but more than
that, they are willing to take risks. The freedom to take risks - and the freedom to fail - are both keys to innovation. Design students have a great deal of freedom to innovate, as they work outside many of the constraints of the corporate world. The students bring imaginative ideas to ECCO, ideas that are untainted by commercialism, corporate pressures or preconceived notions of how things ‘should be done’. Believe Design has the power to impact the way people think, feel and act. The way people live and enjoy
the world. ECCO wants to foster young talent and encourage the students to express themselves. We value the creativity and intuition of the students, and we support them in their design process. We want the students to discover their passions and believe in their potential – believe in their ability to impact the world through design. Our projects with the Kolding School of Design provide ECCO with the opportunity to work with young, enthusiastic, talented individuals. We introduce them to the exciting footwear industry, open new doors and inspire new directions for their careers.
The Promise of the Future ECCO is always on the lookout for the new talent of tomorrow. Our collaboration with Kolding School of Design puts ECCO in touch with some of the best and the brightest students of today. This interaction provides a way to find the most exceptional young designers and to improve our recruitment process. ECCO finds it inspiring to see the daring, individual expression of these young, creative people. We walk away from the meetings with the students with a re-
newed sense of motivation and enthusiasm for our craft. Working on innovative projects with the students stimulates our own creativity. Insight ECCO considers our contact with the Kolding School of Design to be an important part of our network. The students demonstrate a fresh originality in their approach. The students can often anticipate upcoming trends because they are in touch with the direction of where things are going. Their ideas, attitudes and expectations also reflect emerging trends and tastes.
Through our interaction with the students, ECCO gains insight into future design possibilities and new perspectives on the current challenges facing the company. Our projects with the students allow us to focus on emerging opportunities – new opportunities to innovate our products. ECCO looks forward to a future of new and exciting projects together with the Kolding School of Design.
signe m책rbjerg thomsen
a fairytale. Monday: �She built herself up
like a scaffold while trying to fill the large space�.
charlotte bodil hermansen maja theselius nikolaj lorentz laura møller henriksen
in this patent leather version the classic sandal is given a chance to encounter more exclusive rugs in new surroundings. The holes provide airflow and a sparkle to the surface, which forms a recurring pattern in the collection.
the boot is mainly made from leather with orange piping on the upper part, a zipper in the middle going all the way down to the toe, and ribbons positioning the voluminous leg to the leg of the wearer. The latter is the boot’s primary function because it makes it flexible and enables users to style their own shoe. The boot leg is spacious and can be draped more or less voluminously. The boot is robust and characterised by a clash of references between sci-fi and Puss in Boots.
the ultimate sneaker. All upper parts are made in trans-
parent silicone dyed with bafixan. The silhouette of the shoe is a standardised version of a shoe, but it relates objectively to the common perception of the concept of ornament and the various – more or less – functional parts of a shoe; there are, for instance, no laces and visible stitches – only the shoe in all its simplicity.
the silhouette of the boot takes its point of departure in the classic cut of e.g. the Derby shoe or the Desert boot. The upper part consists of different parts, which relate to one another in a tectonic encounter of surfaces forming a new language of lines and surfaces. The cutting, which forms a line to the heel, continues around the sole creating direct contact between the leather and the base. The base of the shoe is placed directly on the ground. Â
amanda mccusker
my shoes are shoes you have to get to know. Only through interacting with each shoe (wearing it, touching it) you will really get to know what they are.
marie-louise buchholz
light summer sandal with a touch of the Orient - a sum-
mer shoe made for everyday use. A piece of soft, thin goatskin wraps around the foot. The comfort of the shoe is emphasised by a thin layer of foam between the sole and the leather. A flexible toe strap and the triangular shaped leather attached to an adjustable heel strap ensure a perfect fit. Loops on either side of the shoe provide flexible support to the ankle joint. Finally, the rubber sole ensures silent, elegant movement.
johanne rude lindegaard
my first childhood recollections of shoes: My favourite shoes bought for me by my mother on a trip to Norway. Sensing how they adjusted to my feet. Colour inspiration: Neon lighting up like snow. Northern lights on grey, Nordic winter days.
joan pedersen
hope. the final model. The foot-shape
is distinct. The old leather jacket embellishes the toe. The vivid, petrol-coloured leather clings to the shoe, and the laces have a firm grip on the shape.
wrapped up. Toppled. Slightly comic. Intense. Just like my Sundays. But there is hope.
anne serup grove
the shoe draws its inspiration from the succession of different layers; from the orderly world of man-made blinds to the organic patterns of sandy Nordic beaches brought about by the harsh autumn waves. Both in colour and shape the shoe mimics the repetitions of both worlds and at the same time its rigorous appearance makes it stand out from the rest of the collection. The pattern and drawing of the shoe are very orderly but with the hides and leather working together its shell-shape takes on a more organic appearance, giving life to the shoe and direction towards the waves.
tesnim sayar
michael roloff
gitta foldberg
a spring shoe, quick to put on and with a simple expression of forward striving lines starting at the sole. The shoe is made from spring-green
suede with a pink strap at the back. It is lined with cream-coloured soft skin and has an inner sole of spring-green suede. Stiff heel and toe linings are used in order to provide a certain stiffness and to preserve the shape.The shoe has soles made of sole leather and five thin layers of rubber gradually pushing forward. The shape of the sole is intentionally transferable to a mould.
christina hansen
spring is calling Pump with a mossgreen suede exterior and a smooth green skin interior. Heel made of concrete and ebony. Green skin outer sole; grey skin inner sole.
louise fenger hvilsted
a mountain shoe. The height of the soles induces a sense of elevation while the contours of the mountain shape around the foot. The shoe is feminine but marked by the sharp edges of rough nature. Sole in lacquered teakwood; upper part in matt black leather with laces of bright moss-green suede.
brian frandsen
“that’s why I like to listen to Schubert while I’m
driving. Like I said, it’s because all of the performances are imperfect. A dense, artistic kind of imperfection stimulates your consciousness, keeps you alert. If I listen to some utterly perfect performance of an utterly perfect piece while I’m driving, I might want to close my eyes and die right then and there. But listening to the D major, I can feel the limits of what humans are capable of – that a certain type of perfection can only be realized through a limitless accumulation of the imperfect. And personally, I find that encouraging…”.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
malin sixtensson
the collection is inspired by a state of mind. It has to do
with behaviour that sticks, and patterns that you cannot or will not let go of. It has to do with the difficulty of finding balance in everyday life. In this particular case, it has to do with being everything or nothing; when everything feels black or white, hot or cold. The collection is inspired by the cross as representative of the highest or the deepest in life. More or less overtly, the cross is a recurring theme in all of the shoes. Other distinctive features of the collection are shiny thin leather, plane soles and angular shape.
victoria kusk
summer shoes with reference to classic men’s shoes and ECCO’s own 1984 OL shoe designed for the Danish Olympic team. Furthermore a visual reference to the Viennetta ice cream of the eighties.
michelle hansen
the shape of this ballerina is classic but has some distinct features such as the woven material and the feathers made from patented material. The shiny feathers have been turned inside out, so their details are hidden and can only be detected from a certain angle or by the wearer. The shoe has a feminine and strong look and can be worn on a variety of occasions. The lining is in a dim golden colour, and the sole is flat and simple.
design a collection of shoes for yourself. You can do whatever you want except for one thing: the shoes must be flat. What does your personal ideal
shoe collection look like? Having yourself as the target group for a shoe collection is not an easy starting point. What is it I really want when it is all up to me? Am I an unambiguous target group? Or should I direct the design at one specific aspect of my personality? What drives me and what turns me on? In other words: Who am I? This book displays the result of a collaboration between fifty students from Kolding School of Design, the Department of Product Design, consisting of Fashion, Textile and Industrial Design, and the ECCO shoe company. Prepare for shoes with black-mottled cowlick toes, shoes for mutated six-year-old feet, super sneakers, concrete soles, jazz boots looking the way Miles Davis sounded in the eighties, shoes for Willumsen’s mountain climber anno 2012, shoes as flower leaves and sanitary towels, nostalgic shoes filled with childhood memories, shoes for car lovers, plaited shoes, shoes with wooden soles and Scandinavian light, adventurous shoes, hairy fur shoes – you name it! Some are couture-like and experimental, others commercial and ready for production. All in all, the collections display the bubbling potential of the next generation of shoe designers to be enjoyed by the many wearers – including the designers themselves.