34 Fearless designs

34

FEARLESS DESIGNS

Get yourself stared at. A brand has to be daring to smash through the accepted norms and do something completely different. But it certainly gets you noticed. As ever there’s a risk that if you’re too bold, you’ll reduce the number of people who want to buy your goods. Then again, you can always go for the customer tier approach, get known for a totally outrageous approach, then add the slightly outrageous to broaden your appeal without reducing your brand’s impact.

The idea United Nude is an ethical shoe manufacturer whose fabulous footwear is collaboration between two men named Rem and Galahad. Rem Koolhass is a Dutch architect who designed United Nude’s Möbius shoe in an attempt to win back his lost girlfriend, so the story goes. Galahad Clark is the seventh generation shoemaker from the UK company, Clark’s, who took over the Terra Plana ethical shoe brand in 2002.

The Möbius series is moderately outrageous, but United Nude went further still with their Abstract and Eamz ranges. Have a look at www.unitednude.com to get the picture.

These shoes are not cheap. I’ve seen more affordable copies and they fall apart. Structurally, these shoes need Rem Koolhaas’s architectural input to keep their integrity. But they are successful,

because they’re worn by people who see them as an extension of their own personality; they like to feel a little outrageous themselves. They’re so unusual, they make news. Even if it’s just fashion news, it all helps to build a stronger brand identity.

In practice • Being talked about in the press for the right reasons is great. If you’ve got something that people will stare at, then get the PR people on to it. • According to the United Nude story, it was Rem having his heart broken that inspired him to make the Möbius shoe. Even at your worst times, you can have some amazing ideas while your mind is exploring places it doesn’t usually visit. Don’t dump them when you’re feeling better, use them.