MA Fashion Footwear 2012 Master’s Project Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
Thanks to: my father Benno Vonlanthen (for supporting and believing in me), my mother Antoinette Vonlanthen (for the early inspiration) and my partner Cristina Oehrli (for being who you are) In chronological order: Liegenschaftsverwaltung der Stadt Bern, Adrian Humbel, Simon Schreiber, Anita Moser, Rebecca Goldie, Kathryn Senior, Felix Flury, John Edwards, LCF MA footwear class of 2012, Leonard Kahlcke, Stephanie Hensley, Goodenough College, Susan Collier, Philipp Abegg, Maureen Henderson, David Sweeney, BALLY Shoe Factories Ltd., Jutta Merkelbach-Vallana, Erhard Gysin, CS Keable Rhino 3D, Briers Keable, Hess & Co. AG, J端rg Mock, Heinrich Albicker, Berner Fachhochschule BFH, J端rg Feissli, Julie Wetzel, Alain Bucher
MAvoile Fashion Le
Footwear 2012
Table of contents 1. About the author
page 5
2. Aim of the project
page 6
3. Brief history of wooden soles
page 9
4. History of plywood and its applications
page 10
5. Introduction into the Art Nouveau and Art Deco period
page 11
6. Design theory
page 14
7. Design methodology
page 16
8. Technical development
page 19
9. Project and time management methodology
page 24
10. Critical Analysis
page 26
11. The Project’s Future
page 30
12. Personal aspiration
page 32
13. Bibliography
page 39
14. Picture sources
page 39
raphaël delan
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
1. About the author It was after regular compulsory school, that I attended the School of Handcrafting & Arts Berne in 1987. After this, I began my architecture studies and in parallel, I also attended the School Of Arts were I made myself a pair of bespoke shoes for the final project. I eventually then entered the world of professional music in 1992, where I worked as a DJ and organized events. It was because of such parties, that my attention regarding shoes moved from an orthopaedic point of view towards the more delicate footwear designs for women. I was captivated by elegant women, wearing fashionable shoes and found myself assessing their footwear on physical and formal criteria. Over the years, I became a well renowned event organiser and eventually was asked to work for the biggest Swiss media group Tamedia AG as a marketing consultant. A couple of years later, I opened my own record shop. Together with my employees we became one of the landmarks in the Swiss music-, event- and club scene. Eventually, after the closing of my record shop in 2008 I decided to embark on a new challenge, by exploring the design of women’s footwear. For that reason I applied to the London College of Fashion for the Fashion Footwear MA course, where I could combine my knowledge in the areas of design, marketing and entrepreneurship.
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Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
2. AIM FOR THE project All my life I have suffered from a congenital hip complaint. Throughout my adolescence, I had to wear a leg brace and eventually, special orthopaedic shoes. I constantly tried to find shoes that fulfilled my aesthetic preferences and also provided a solid basis for my orthotist to be able to alter the footwear according to my requirements. It was also in my teenage years when my grandfather, a carpenter, helped me to make a functional model of a boat. I was very impressed by his skills in bending wood in order to achieve the original look of a boat. This picture of organic shaped wood and its smooth and warm yet highly technical properties stayed with me ever since. Years later, during my architectural studies I became interested in the rich design of Art Nouveau. My following journey though the USA and the two months I spent in the Art Deco district of Miami Beach, intensified my love for the rather clean structured yet smooth shapes of Art Deco. I then started to focus more on the transitional period of those two periods, where the rich floral shapes turn into
more subtle and simpler forms. In its beginning Art Deco was foremost a reaction to the industrialisation in the early 1920s, when new production processes became standard and therefore required simpler designs. Looking at today’s designs, this motto still seems to apply. Back at the time the material concept of plywood was also already known, albeit its design was still restricted by the technical possibilities. All this combined with the aesthetics of fashionable women’s shoes that caught my eye whilst working as a DJ in clubs made me want to explore the different designs as well as the different material aspects of women’s footwear. Therefore, the time seems right to amalgamate two old topics like art deco and plywood to a modern concept for women footwear. The project is an attempt to create a classical design, which does not become
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01. Annie Mohaupt’s 2009 Plywood Sandals
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02. Plywood Sandals From A Christies’ Auction (1974)
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void with the next collection thrown on the market. A subtle yet reflective approach to design will make it look current but not trendy and therefore timeless. To the present day wooden soles have only been made as rather cumbersome constructions. This is where plywood could be introduced as an alternative because of its self-supporting nature. 03
03. John Galliano’s Plywood Platform Heel For The 2009 Dior Fall Collection
Just a very few examples of plywood soles can be found, but no attempt seemed to be commercially or technically of high standards. (Picture 1 & 2) Whereas in 2009, John Galliano also made plywood soles for the Dior fall collection but in his case, it can be argued that he did not fully exploit the materials potential. On the contrary, it seems that he used plywood just as a trivial statement. By building up the sole’s stress points with massively layered plywood, he does not differentiate from conventional wooden soles, although plywood would allow him to make slimmer silhouettes. (Picture 3)
Another characteristic of plywood is that it can be bent and then retains its shape. This technique for example can be found in anatomically shaped wooden seating surfaces. The newest development to plywood is that it can now also be bent in two relatively small opposing radiuses and therefore it becomes even more resilient. Additionally, wood is a natural product and therefore a highly humancompatible commodity. As if all of this wasn’t enough, plywood is also a very sustainable product. Wood itself is biodegradable and if bonded to plywood with the right cement, it will remain so. It is also easy to recycle because there is no separation before reusing the material, unlike a regular cardboard insole board with its inlaid metal-shank. On top of that, plywood is also a source efficient material. In contrary to the subtractive process of milling a sole out of a woodblock, plywood soles can be produced using less material because of their additive construction nature.
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raphaĂŤl delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
All this makes it clear that there is true potential in researching more thoroughly into plywood soles and therefore, all these points seem to imperatively demand for use in footwear. In contrast to the use of plywood, the heel for the shoe is designed in metal and there are several reasons for this. This material, like all the other materials used in the project, can have a certain antique feeling to it yet it can look modern. This depends on the machining and finishing methodology. The very first ideas to use titanium because of its incredible strength and lightness turned out to be too costly and the possibilities to machine it are limited. Other metals like copper or brass are too heavy in weight, and considering the few advantages also rather expensive. Ultimately, the best metal for this project is aluminium. It is rather light and soft and therefore it is easy to process. Also it leaves many tooling options open, which will later prevent from getting caught in a particular finishing process. This all makes it a perfect prototyping material. Like wood, it is also a sustainable material because industry is well geared up to recycle aluminium. A slight disadvantage is the metals degree of hardness. Whereas a soft material is good
to work with, this can be a detriment for a final component. A heel of a shoe is very exposed and therefore aluminium is vulnerable to dents and scratches, although this can be balanced by choosing a harder alloy. Alternatively, but just to a certain extent the aluminium surface can also be hardened by anodizing it. Because the project centres on a new sole construction, classic leather was chosen to make the uppers. This helps to focus on the sole and heel design development rather than on an extra production methodology for the uppers. To contrast the hard materials wood and aluminium, suede leather was selected. The rather muted autumn-like colours of the three leathers are again referring to past times.
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04. Hinged Ancient Greek Wooden Sandal (Date Unknown)
05. Early Dutch Wooden Clog (15th Century)
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06. Late 16th Century Wooden Platform Chopine
07. Baroque Lady Mule, 17th Century Leather Covered Wooden Heel
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3. BRIEF HISTORY OF WOODEN SOLES The first traces of wooden soles date back to ancient Greece, where sandals had thick wooden soles in order to protect the wearer’s feet. (Picture 4) Over the centuries, carved wooden soles were a practical way of keeping feet dry and safe, but also to convey a certain social status. The basic shape remained the same, although it varied slightly from Eastern or Southern regions towards Western countries. (Picture 5) In the 14th century Venice was the centre of East-West trade and therefore became the principal producer of the European version of raised wooden overshoes, called the zoccoleri (clogs). Two centuries later they also started to produce a far more luxurious elevated shoe – the chopine (Picture 6), which where mostly worn by women in public. (Semmelheck, 2008)
08. 1960’s Classical Dutch Wooden Clogs
09. Wooden Platform And Heel Sandal by Casadei (2011)
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Again, two centuries later, because of social status, the women in the French royal court started to request more height added to their heel. (Picture 7) The cobblers mostly used wood to make it, but the shank had not yet been invented. It was all about subtlety for elegant shoes, while working shoes were made out of blocky wood. Those shapes mostly drew back to the clog shape. A special version of it can still be found in Holland, where the entire shoe is carved out of one piece of wood. (Picture 8) Besides this, there are not many other applications for wooden soles. Nowadays, the most fashionable use of wooden soles is probably with sandals. (Picture 9) Because of the property of wood, it was always carved or later milled. (Semmelheck, 2008)
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Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
4. HISTORY OF PLYWOOD AND ITS APPLICATIONS Archaeologists have found traces of laminated wood in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. A thousand years ago, the Chinese shaved wood and glued it together for use in furniture. The English and French are reported to have worked wood on the general principle of plywood in the 17th and 18th centuries. Early Modern-Era plywood was typically made from decorative hardwoods and most commonly used in the manufacture of household items such as cabinets, chests, desktops and doors. It was in the second half of the 19 century in New York City that the first patent was issued on plywood. The invention consists of cementing or otherwise fastening together a number of these scales of sheets, with the grain of the successive pieces or some of them, running crosswise or diversely from that of the others. (Apawood, 2012). In the beginning of the 20th century, plywood was mostly used for door panels (Picture 10) and running boards for cars. The invention
of waterproof adhesives in 1934 improved on the quality and therefore opened the door for a wide range of new applications of outdoor plywood, whereas a couple of years earlier the Finnish architect Hugo Alvar Hendrik Aalto had already started experimenting with bonding wood veneers to use in furniture. Alvar’s contribution was the connection of vertical and horizontal pieces of material. For this, he laminated birch, which is a very flexible and springy material. (Davis, 2012) (Picture 11) About a decade later, during World War II, the technique of layered wood found its next rise; thousands of war accessories from machinery parts, gliders for the air force and boats were made of plywood. (Picture 12)
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10. 1920’s Oak Face Plywood Paneled Room With Doors
11. Hugo Alvar Hendrik’s Plywood Chair No.31 (1930)
12. American World War II Plywood Torpedo Boat, Type PT-20 (1941)
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13. Pompeian Art Nouveau Votive Offering Case (Early 20th Century)
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Plywood is often called the original engineered wood product because it was one of the first to be made by bonding together cut or refashioned pieces of wood to form a larger and integral composite unit stronger and stiffer than the sum of its parts. Crosslaminating layers of wood veneer actually improve upon the inherent structural advantages of wood by distributing along-the-grain strength of wood in both directions. (Apawood, 2012) This seems to be the essence of this technique: use the benefits of the material and lessen its detriments by processing it a certain way.
5. INTRODUCTION INTO THE ART NOUVEAU AND ART DECO PERIOD The roots of the Art Nouveau period lead back to the year 1861 when England was the most industrialized nation. This movement walked under the flag of an art that would break all connections to classical times, and bring down the barriers between the fine arts and applied arts. (Huntfor, 2012) However, it was at least three decades until the Art Nouveau movement fully blossomed by the end of the 19th century, mainly throughout Western Europe. Art Nouveau was a reaction to mid-19th-century artistic styles and the basic idea was that art should be for everyone. Also, the movement’s main idea was to create an art of modern life and that all objects should be beautiful and handmade. (Leloup & Giola, 2012) (Picture 13)
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raphaĂŤl delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
This shows that Art Nouveau in its origins was more of a democratic movement, but with a distinctive formal language. The social aspect is the thriving reason behind the idea to produce objects, which are affordable for the masses. The new Style was richly ornamental, characterised by curves and willowy lines. The painters, illustrators, jewellery and glassware designers explored symbolic or dreamlike themes but also ornamental details, floral patterns and decorative elements. (Leloup & Giola, 2012) (Picture 14) After only 20 years, Art Nouveau came to an end. Some people claim it to be due to World War I, while others think that it was because the concept of hand made objects for the masses could not work. Doubtlessly, the movement had a massive impact on the view on design, even when Art Nouveau objects or architecture were only affordable for a wealthy social class. Nevertheless, it had a profound effect on the upcoming movements, which continued to explore integrated designs such as the German Bauhaus School or the Art Deco movement.
The Art Deco period began around 1914 and lasted until the outbreak of World War II. Again, it was a reaction to a former period; this time on the overwhelming designs of Art Nouveau. It was supported by the new belief in the rapid modernization of the world. One of the most popular statements of this art is the Chrysler building in New York City, planned by the American architect William van Alen. (Pictures 15) The style simplified the shapes and curves from the Art Nouveau period and appeared to be more elegant and clean. It is also characterized by the use of crisp, symmetrical geometric forms. (Picture 16) For objects or everyday products that meant mass production was easier to achieve and the style additionally could become much more international. (Huntfor, 2012) Surprisingly, a strong embodiment of the transition between the two ideologies can be found in fashion. When Coco Chanel liberated women from
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14. Louis Majorelle’s Art Nouveau Chair (Late 19th Century)
15. New York City’s Chrysler Building By William Van Alen’s (1931)
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16. Marianne Brandt’s Art Deco Coffee And Tea Set (1924)
17. Audrey Hepburn Wearing Chanel’s Little Black Dress- “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” Movie (1961)
18. Vintage Photo Of A Coco Chanel Two-Piece-Suit (1931)
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Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
the corset and opulence in the first decade of the 20th century, she challenged current fashion norms. Her aim was to liberate women both physically and mentally. Simultaneously, she also succeeded in strengthening their self-confidence by promoting the women’s body with clean, simple, yet feminine lines. (Coco before Chanel, 2009) Her concepts of the little black dress or the two-piece suit are amongst the most classic pieces of fashion to this present day. (Pictures 17 & 18)
6. DESIGN THEORY In the 1920s, Art Deco was a reaction to the rapid modernisation of the world. Therefore the formally rich overwhelming curves of Art Nouveau where stripped down and simplified. If we look at the even more accelerated times we are living in today, analogously, design should have become even more plain and clear. Although it has to be said that there always is a counter-reaction to a movement and as for nowadays, different design concepts are often thrown together and mixed wildly.
Anyhow, this project shall look feminine and therefore smooth soft curves dominate. Moreover, the design reflects the floral as well as the technical world with its contrast of smooth bended lines and the sharp edged angles. (Picture 19) Besides this, the technical materials used namely wood and metal are designed in smooth consistent curves. This concept reflects in the heel’s curvature, where leaves become an abstract citation. (Picture 20) Additionally, all heel curves either flow into the plywood sole shape or refer to the design of the upper leathers. (Picture 21) The design concept of Art Deco was often mirrored around a dominant centre line. Now, in order to create a contemporary design yet obeying an old concept, this centre line is slightly bent, but all shapes around still align to it. (Picture 19) Hereby, the design becomes more dynamic, similar to life and how it accelerated in the last 100 years.
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19. Design Development: Smooth Bended Curves Contrasting Sharp Edged Angle
20. Heel’s Curvature As An Abstract Citation Of Leaves: Plasticine And Drawing Design Process
21. Heel’s Curvature Flows Into The Sole’s Shape Or Refers To The Design Of The Upper Leather: Design With Unproduced Heel Extension Detail
22. Art Nouveau Derived Curvature Is Following An Art Deco Regime: Design On Vacuum Formed Shoe Last Pull-Over
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In parallel the new design also visualizes the energetic movement of walking. Additionally, the curvature is derived from nature, while the reduced arrangement of the lines follows the Art Deco regime. (Picture 22) The new design’s ambiguity also shows by first looking at only one shoe but then looking at both shoes as a pair; a single shoe is asymmetrical whereas a pair looks symmetrical again. (Pictures 23)
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23. Asymmetrical Single Shoe, Whereas The Pair Looks Symmetrical 24. Well-Known Materials Contrast With “State Of The Art” Production Technology Or Muted Colours Differ From Shiny Surfaces 25. A Sense Of The Past Yet Futuristic Technical Plywood Soles
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raphaĂŤl delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
There is even more to the idea of contrast: all the materials suede leather, plywood and aluminium embody the past, whereas the latest machining methods for the plywood sole and the aluminium heel stand for the present time. The pattern of contrast is also repeated by the undefined muted colours of the smooth suede leathers representing the past whereas the hard shiny surface of the milled heel stands for present times. (Picture 24) In the middle of the leathers and the heel the plywood sole sensibly connects yet divides these two worlds and interestingly, the plywood seems to have both attributes: a futuristic technical component because of the layered making and the sense of the past because of the material wood. (Picture 25)
can also export digital files in almost every format known to the industry. This keeps the options to different producing systems open. Beneficially, it is available as a free and relatively stable beta-version for the Apple Macintosh platform. As a trade-off to that, the workflow of the software is less intuitive than for example the Adobe Freehand software. Therefore, working with Rhino 3D means that the design process must happen prior to digital modelling.
7. DESIGN METHODOLOGY To start the project development, a three-dimensional digital model of the sole and heel construction had to be made, because the entire project literally is built on those components. Therefore, the software Rhinoceros 3D seemed to suit best, because one of its core features is the design of control curves and free forms. The software
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28 28. Insole-Board Photo-Shoot Setting With Masking Tape Distant Marks
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29. Top View Of Insole-Board With Masking Tape Alignment 30. Side View Of Insole-Board And Last With Reference Measurement
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31. Tracing The Sole From Background Bitmap Picture 32. Designing New Slimmer Sole Shape
31 33. Different Plywood Soles To Stress-Test 34. Sole For Testing Its Mittle Part
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35. Creating The Upper Surface Of The Wooden Sole Board
36. The Solid 3D-Data Sole
37. Design Of The Allowance To Later Sandwich The Upper Leathers
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As a very first step, the last of the shoe was threedimensionally scanned to receive the so-called mesh-data. This information rebuilds the surface of the scanned object in a couple of thousand polygons. (Picture 26) To lower the amount of data but foremost to smooth the curves, it is then rebuilt as a digital nurbs model. It is crucial, that the rebuilding of the curves through much fewer joint points happens as accurately as possible and that the newly created surface is congruent with its original form. (Picture 27) After that, a standard insole board was added to the new created digital last of the shoe by taking pictures from two different views. To receive two equally scaled pictures, the distance between the object and the camera lens had to remain the same. This was obtained by shooting all views from a distance of one meter. (Picture 28) For better accuracy, a 35mm camera lens was used because this minimizes the distortion of the pictures. For the same reason it was also
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important to take the pictures at a perpendicular angle to the object. (Pictures 29 & 30) These pictures were then imported as background bitmaps into the Rhino software. (Picture 31) By tracing those bitmaps in both views a “curve from two views” was created and with this, the upper edge of
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Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
the plywood sole was obtained. In order to receive a nice curvature and slim middle part of the sole, the upper edge was then bent to a concave shape. (Picture 32) In parallel and to prevent the sole from later collapsing, its exact shape was determined by running tests at the plywood moulding company. (Pictures 33 & 34) By defining the middle axis, the upper surface of the wooden sole board was then created. (Picture 35) The surface was then offset and formed to a digital solid three-dimensional sole. (Picture 36) In order to later sandwich the upper leathers between the insole board and the plywood sole, an allowance of 2mm was created. (Picture 37) This measurement corresponds to the thickness of the upper leathers including the back lining. At this stage of the project, it was crucial to consider the following fact: in order to make a high-heel with a rigid functional sole, a minimum toe spring of at least 12mm is required. This will guarantee a natural roll-off the foot. To a certain extend this can be achieved by just lowering the heel height the shoe last was originally made for. In this project the elevation of the last is set to 105mm. By lowering it to 98mm, 7mm are already gained. If added to the already existing
5mm, the total of 12mm toe-spring is reached. (Picture 38) Finally, the data from the upper surface of the created new sole was then extracted to design the mould, which later is used to press the plywood soles. (Picture 39) In conjunction with the plywood sole development, a plasticine mock-up was made to design the heel. (Picture 40) It was important that this took place simultaneously, because the metal heel will later be inlayed into the wood. The heel was then photographed from two views and again, the same process as for the wooden sole was conducted. Ultimately, the files were once more reviewed and re-built with a 3D modelling specialist and at the very end, the digital model was made “watertight”. This is what the industry calls the process of making it suitable for production by closing and aligning all surfaces to one solid surface.
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38. Minimum Of 12mm For Rigid Sole Toe Spring
39. Digital Data To Produce The Plywood Pressing Mould
40. Plasticine Heel Mock-Up
39 41. Reviewing The Upper Leather Appliqué
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42. Mock-Ups For The Tubing Intersection
43. Raw Cut Plywood Pressing Mould, Ready For Milling
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The third and last stage of the design process was to transfer the design from the final drawings on to the upper leathers. Therefore, a specialist made pattern from the drawings and the models resulting from this, where then reviewed together. (Picture 41) This method allows the positioning of the appliqués and also the aligning to the heel’s curvature. Finally, also three mock-ups had to be made in order to perfect the tubing and its intersections. (Picture 42)
44. Milled Mould To Press The Plywood Soles
8. TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT
45. Mould With Inlayed Aluminium Sheet For Microwaving The Plywood While Pressing
The technical development can be divided into three main sections: the plywood sole, the metal heel and the upper leathers. To focus better on the technical development of the sole and the heel, the uppers were chosen to be made in a standard process and therefore they are more important to
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design development because they help to underpin the comprehensive design strategy. In contrast to this, the technical development of a new component starts by researching the existing models. The examination showed that shoe parts always derive from at shoe last and therefore it is mandatory to first produce 3D data from the last as
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Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
also from the sole and the heel. This digital information will then later be used to machine the components. In order to produce plywood soles, a mould was first made. It consists of various 20mm thick, vertically layered beechwood sheets, which are held together by four long bolts. (Picture 43) This blocks where then milled with the data from the plywood sole. (Picture 44) Both parts of the mould were designed to have a minimum gap of 15mm in between. Then, two separate wired aluminium sheets were laid into the mould parts to create microwaves which heat up the plywood’s own moisture, whereas the minimum distance between the sheets prevents electrical sparkover. (Picture 45) If the plywood needs to be made thinner than 15mm, additional non-adhesive claddings have to be laid into the mould. Generally, a strong ply is reached by layering the grain of the veneers in cross-direction. Also they are layered in odd figures, so that the top and the bottom grain are running in equal directions. For the plywood sole production a 1.15mm strong veneer is used and because of the pressing it will shrink down to 1.1mm. The sole will
then be 7.7mm strong. For the comprehensive planning, this fact was very important to be considered. To allows the plywood to bend in two relatively small curves a special pre-treated veneer was used but for competitive reasons, this technique remains secret to the company. After several tests using this process it was finally possible to prevent the wood from cracking. In the end, this was also possible because the curvature between the two soles was made smoother. (Picture 46) To mill the sole’s edge and its insertion part for the metal heel, a socket had to be made. For this, the same data was used as it already was used for the mould. The socket was then milled so that the plywood sheet for the soles could be embedded. To vacuum-fasten this sheet, holes were drilled and a small seaming from masking tape was made on the
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46 46. Improved Middle Curvature To Prevent Plywood From Cracking 47. Socket To Vacuum-Attach Plywood Soles For Milling 48. Light White Stained Beechwood Soles
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49. Silky-Gloss Lacquered Walnut Sole 50. Mazak Mazatrol Matrix 9-Axis Milling Machine 51. First Aluminium Heel, Test-Milled With 5 Axis 52. Milled High-End Finish Surface Of Aluminium Heel
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socket. (Picture 47) The plywood soles with the heel insertions were then milled out of the moulded plywood sheets and the holes to attach the heel were drilled. Unfortunately, most of the precious wood soles where made incorrectly by a poorly briefed worker. So I had to come up with an idea to make the beechwood soles somehow compatible with the rest of the colour range. Therefore I tested various wood stains on beechwood, but nothing really matched. The natural colour of the beechwood seemed to be the closest solution, yet it clashed with the leather colours from the uppers, especially with pink. Therefore, I had to go back to basic colour theory and after extensive research found the solution to lightly stain the beechwood white. (Picture 48) This method allows the plywood grain to still show through but at the same time it covers the natural yellow from the wood but yet keeps its red colour shade pushing through. This makes it blend nicely into a very light pink, so that the the beechwood
soles now perfectly refer to the colour of the leather tubing. After all soles were sanded, they also could be stained and together with the remaining precious timber soles they were finally all lacquered with a silky gloss. (Picture 49).
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One of the most demanding parts of the project was the production of the heel. Because its shape consist just of free flowing surfaces, the fabrication uses a machine that is able to move its milling-head in at least 5 axis. (Picture 50) Because the machining tool needs to approach the piece from all sides, the fixation of the work piece is very difficult. Especially, if one’s aim is a high-quality milling surface finish, absolutly no vibration while machining is allowed otherwise the milling head dashes some marks onto the metal surface. (Picture 51) Another aspect is to determine the right milling strategy or better, the processing order. This pro-
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Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
gramming is done by special software that translates 3D data information into a milling movement procedure. Despite this software, the process to get the milling setting right was time-consuming because for every change in programming, an entire heel had to be milled and this took around 90 minutes for a single heel. In order to assess the milled surface quality, the software’s digital milling simulation was of limited usage, because its screen just has a rough graphical representation. Having said that, the idea to empathise on the vertical direction of the heel by milling differently reflecting tiny-notched rays which then fan-out on top of the heel seemed even more ambitious. However, the detailed description of this specific work process would exceed the scope of this commentary. In the end, a high-end surface finish was completed but weeks of reading through X-Y-Z axis logfiles and re-programming the test milling were spent. (Picture 52) The heels were then brought to anodize, which is a chemical colouring process only for aluminium. As a first process the parts are dunked into an alkaline solution in order to open the very upper surface pores and simultaneously also to remove grease residue. (Picture 53) The longer the material is kept in the solvent the more
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55. Appliqué Mock-Ups To Refine The Shape And The Positioning
56. Five Millimetre Padding (Hidden Platform) For A Better Fitting Of The Wooden Sole
57. Drawing To Explain Basic Design Principle To The Pattern Cutter
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colour can later be absorbed. Because the colouring process is not a controlled process, colours can only be defined to a certain extent. This means that once a tone was found, the whole series has to be coloured immediately. The outcomes also depend on various other structural conditions, such as the aluminium alloy. Therefore the alloy number 6023 was chosen, because this material is neutral to anodizing. The colour to anodize aluminium consists of ceramic particles, which dock into the open pores of the material. The idea was that the colour is subtle and that the heel seems to reflect either the leather or the sole colour. The dying process therefore just allowed a very short dipping time of one second and this was just possible, because the heels were relatively small working pieces. Again, extensive testing was required and the comparison with the other material colours was key to a wellbalanced colour range. To finally seal the colour by
closing the open pores, the pieces were put into a hot water bath for about 30 minutes. (Picture 54)
58. Final Design Review Of Toe Appliqué
59. Final Design Review Of Side Appliqué
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60. Paper inlays To Adjust The Heel Insertions Into The Wooden Soles
61. Attaching The Heel
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As very last part of the making process, the upper leathers were made. Several mock-ups had to be produced, in order to align the curvature to the soles and heels. With the pattern-cutting specialist, the designs were then reviewed and enhanced. (Picture 55) For better fitting and to facilitate the attachment of the wooden sole to the insole-board and the uppers, a 5mm strong padding was added to the front part of the shoe. (Picture 56) As a next step, the definitive patterns with all the details, appliqués and tubing were drawn digitally and once more reviewed and then the production of the uppers then finally took place. (Pictures 57, 58 & 59) During the entire making process I worked closely with the factory’s head of production. It was very important to be present, especially while a
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raphaël delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
work-step was made for the first time. The head of production first introduced me to the different specialists, each one responsible for an individual operation. So, I was enabled to supervise the uppers production process autonomously. Nevertheless and as aforementioned, the making of the uppers was a standard process and because it is not core issue to the technical development, the commentary leaves this out and continues with the description of the final assembly of the shoes. By glue-pressing the wooden sole on to the upper leathers, the final fitting of the shoes was started. Paper inlays helped to adjust the heel’s curvature perfectly to the wooden soles. (Picture 60) With a drop of glue and four M4 screws the heels were attached. (Picture 61) After that, the tap was glued on to the heel and the rubber sole was glued to the front part of the wooden sole. This crepe-sole was chosen because of its strong grip and once used, the light beige colour will turn into a dark greyish brown, which will then perfectly fit the whole colour range of the shoes. Then the inner sole was glued in and ultimately, all shoes where cleaned from rubber leftovers, traces and dust, then impregnated and finally bagged.
9. PROJECT AND TIME MANAGEMENT METHODOLOGY The idea was to predominantly work with Swiss companies, in order to make a high fashion product. Despite the fact that Swiss people are broadly represented in internationally active businesses, there are just a few exponents in the high fashion industry. Some argue this is because such businesses were rarely founded in Switzerland others claim it to be because the Swiss have a reluctant attitude toward new ideas and therefore, a certain stolidity in action occurs. My belief is that the Swiss peculiarities such as punctuality and liability but also their aim for absolute precision in design and craftsmanship are most effective in combination with the core values from other leading economies: a decision making competence and in general, a higher curiosity for new things to come.
raphaël delan
Therefore I created the term “International Swissness” and this project shall be guided according to this subject. I started to plan the project six months before the hand-in date but researched sponsoring partners from much earlier on. For working with external partners or companies it is crucial to understand their aims for their own businesses. Why could they possibly be interested in the project? What personal or commercial matter could be an important reason to them? To find partners who are willing to invest their time and knowledge into a new project, it helps to emphasise with them. The better all involved parties know each other, the more they usually commit to the project. With a project spanning over half a year, my strategy was to set myself the deadline a month prior to the actual deadline. The new deadline is
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the one that is communicated and in no circumstances the date of delivery is set back. Together with the involved specialists a more exact timeline was defined. Again, for every sub-project a time buffer was planned in. Once working on a sub-project, it helped to let the involved partner know about the next step. This recalled the urgency of the closing date and therefore, they personally felt responsible to succeed. However, most of the time when something goes wrong it is because of miscommunication. To avoid this it can help to respond to mails or missed calls within 24 hours. If in return, I do not hear back from a partner within this time, I kindly ask them to reconfirm. It also helps to summarize verbal agreements in a brief and clear email. Another helpful methodology for a clear communication is to rephrase someone’s statement, so that this person can verify if what has been said is understood.
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raphaël delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
An example of miscommunication happened in the first phase of the project. After the first meetings with the project manager of the plywood company, the whole plywood sole project was outlined and ready to start. I was introduced to the technician in charge and the first part of the project went very well. I regularly informed myself about the project’s development by calling or periodical visiting the production plant.
I then went back to the project manager to discuss a new setoff for the project. Together, we then informed the technician what we had agreed on. This turned out to be a significant improvement for the workflow, as everybody now had clear instructions.
After two weeks, the working progress remarkably decreased and each phone-call with the technician caused awkward silent moments. After a personal conversation with the project manager but also with the technician I found out that the reason for this was an internal communication problem they had. The project manager did not clearly advise his technician on how to handle this project. Therefore, the technician had thought that he was expected to do the project between his regular tasks, whereas the project manager thought of handling it as a “regular order”. Because the company at this time was working to its capacity, the technician never found the time to work on the project.
10. CRITICAL ANALYSIS On one hand it is positive how I was able to win over sponsoring partners for the project. On the other hand more partners also restrict the design process because each new decision affects the whole making process and subsequently some of its participants. So, often an enhanced idea had to be abandoned in order to keep up with the time-plan. The metal heel for example, took the specialist approximately 250 hours (!) to program the milling. After all the conversations and meetings to solve
raphaël delan
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the milling issues it became clear that a symmetrical build-up of the 3D files of one heel would have caused less trouble to program the milling. Favourably, the design would not even visibly change. Nonetheless, the alterations on the sole- and heel 3D files would have taken too long and the strategy to work around the unperfected data was quicker. Also the different areas of expertise could have been less by just focusing on one special subject, whereas the interdisciplinary nature of the project can make it exiting and challenging.
62. Shoe On The Right With Hidden Platform Padding
It could also be said that the original concept, to create a classic design where every curve and line has its purpose, suffers from too many special features. The appliquéd “leaves” for example are just an adornment and not a necessity and therefore redundant. Maliciously put, to some eyes it can look cheap because the whole concept appears
63. Plywood Sole And The Upper Leather Attachment Detail
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overloaded and therefore it is not underpinning subtlety. An argument in favour of the design is, that it makes the design unique by amalgamating all its contrasting features and this, if applied and combined reasonably, at the end has the potential to become a timeless design. The strategy to just design what is technically needed did not seem appropriate for a fashion project. Moreover, the basic idea was to please the eye with equilibrated shapes and curves. The project’s aspiration appears to be perfectly backed up by Louis Sullivan’s design attitude. He said that all ornaments, where used, must be derived from nature. The American architect, who was popular around the late 19th and early 20th century and is considered to have had a major influence on the Art Nouveau / Art Deco movement, also made the famous statement “form follows function”. (Sullivan, 1904) These two statements exactly define the cornerstones for this fashion footwear project.
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raphaĂŤl delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
By looking closer at the plywood sole, different technical topics come into view: first and most importantly the strategy of designing it solely using digital data was not the most accurate way to do it. Because all shoes are built on to a last, which then is not removed until the very end of the shoe making process, it made it difficult to place the wooden sole on to the upper leathers / last compound. This is mainly because both parts, the last and the sole, are not yielding enough. Therefore, a 5mm thick rubber foam padding had to be added to the front part of the shoe. This construction, similar to a hidden platform, helped to smoothly take on the rigid wooden sole, so that no gap between the plywood sole and the upper leather came into being. (Pictures 62 & 63) Anyhow, in order to respond to the needs of future production, it will be more appropriate to first build a mock-up from the last with all the uppers, the platform including the insole board and then scan it as one volume. From this data obtained the digital sole file then can be built and ultimately, all parts will fit better when being assembled.
While working on such details the overall design of the project with its implementation of the plywood sole had not to be forgotten. Because the sole’s design is strongly derived from its functionality and vice versa, it subordinates the entire project to a certain extent. This also shows if looked at the heel: the idea to insert it into the wooden sole in order to get a smooth transition and curvature between both components proved to be very complicated. The idea to have a seamless transition, just made visible by two abutting materials, could not be produced to fullest satisfaction, mainly because wood cannot be tooled in such a high precision as metal. In terms of metal, some advantages and also disadvantages are typical to aluminium, which is used for the heel. The chosen alloy No. 6023 is perfect for anodizing because it does not disturb the colouring, whereas simultaneously, the metal lacks a certain hardness.
raphaĂŤl delan
The heel is physically very exposed and therefore very likely to be become scratched and dented. Yet, the process of anodizing can balance this out because a hard ceramic coat is added to the relatively soft aluminium surface.
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64. Heel Insertion Detail
Also the material’s softness makes milling less expensive because the machine’s main cost factor is its running hours. The soft material is cheaper to tool, because it allows a higher feed speed. This all means that aluminium is the right choice for prototyping whereas, for future bulk production another alloy and production method should be considered. Also, the insertion of the heel into the wood was not reviewed enough. Because the curvature of the seat of the heel was so complicated, a 5-axis milling machine was needed to produce the heel. If the axis of the seat and the axis of the rest of the heel would have been parallel the milling could have been made by a 3-axis machine. On top of that the curvature of
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the seat edge was not designed vertically and this caused imperfections milling the wood insertion. Because wood is a natural product it cannot be machined with such a precision as for example metal. This means that the design of the wood insertion, where the measurement of depth is varies in the range of 1/10mm cannot be produced adequately. (Picture 64) Again, to make future production easier it is better to design the heel absolutely symmetrically, so that production becomes much simpler. Over all it can be said that because the area of plywood soles is not yet largely researched, it is a new and interesting project, which needs further development. Also one has to bear in mind that this project can represent a first step in developing a versatile usable plywood sole.
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raphaël delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
11. THE PROJECT’S FUTURE A few companies including my main sponsors showed interest in developing this project to a marketable product. This means that first thing will be to refine the project’s design. In parallel, the clarification of the exact production costs for a comprehensive size range of plywood soles has to be made. This will allow a quote on overall production costs and therefore, a final retail price can be determined. A further area which needs to be considered would be the legal aspect and in particular copyright protection. According to Dr. iur, barrister LL.M. Emanuel Meyer of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE) a worldwide patent would be an option if a solvent partner participates. This could be either the company I have developed the plywood sole with, or a footwear brand that is interested in producing it commercially. Because the patent has to be settled in every single country where a copyright infringement could occur, the administrative costs and charges would be enormous. Moreover, patent costs are usually incurred annually.
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raphaĂŤl delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
Another option addresses a direct production resolution between the sole manufacturer and the designer. Therefore the settlement can for example define a certain monetary participation for each produced item. However, because there are just a few companies worldwide which are able to produce such a plywood sole, this to a certain extent protects it from simply being copied. In other words, because this particular item consists of a highly developed process and knowledge, a third party would have to invest into extensive research and a mechanical park in order to reproduce this sole.
12. PERSONAL ASPIRATION With a broad background in design, administration and marketing but also with my leadership abilities, I am interested in adding my own personal perspective to a luxury brand, whether it is in a strategic defining position, working with a designteam or building up a new brand. For the time being, the further development of my project to a marketable stage is also an option. However, the most important thing is that I can combine my wide-ranging knowledge, which I have accrued in the last 25 years into a comprehensive project.
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raphaël delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
raphaĂŤl delan
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raphaël delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
raphaĂŤl delan
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raphaël delan
Le MAvoile Fashion
Footwear 2012
Master’s Project
Final commentary | London College Of Fashion
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raphaël delan
13. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• Apawood (2012) The Engineered Wood Association [Internet] Available from:
http://www.apawood.org/level_b.cfm?content=srv_med_new_bkgd_plycen [Accessed 26 November 2012]
• Davis, A. (2012) Design-Technology [Internet] Available from: http://www.design-technology.org/alvar1.htm
• www.etsy.com (2012) [Internet] Available from: www.etsy.com [Accessed 26 November 2012]
• Fontaine, A. (2009) Coco before Chanel [DVD] Warner Bros, United Kingdom
• www.huntfor.com (2012) [Internet] Available from: http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/C20th/artdeco.htm
• Meyer, E. (2012) Dr. iur, barrister LL.M of the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE)
Personal phone call on the 6 November 2012
• Mohaupt, A. (2012) www.mohop.com [Internet] Available from: http://www.mohop.com [Accessed 26 November 2012]
• Leloup, I. & Giola, J. (2012) Senses-Art Nouveau Brussels [Internet]
http://www.senses-artnouveau.com/art_nouveau.php [Accessed 26 November 2012]
• Semmelheck, E. (2008) Heights Of Fashion Toronto: Bata Shoe Museum Foundation
• Sullivan, L. (1904) Louis Sullivan, America’s First Modern Architect [Internet] Available from:
http://architecture.about.com/od/greatarchitects/p/sullivan.htm [Accessed 26 November 2012]
14. PICTURE SOURCES All product pictures of the footwear collection by Alain Bucher (www.alainbucher.ch, 2012) and all pictures of the making process by Raphaël Delan (2012) | Otherwise:
• American Plywood Torpedo Boat, Type PT-20, World War II (1941) [Online Image] Available at:
• Annie Mohaupt’s Plywood soles [Online Image] Available at:
• Audrey Hepburn-Breakfast At Tiffany’s Movie Still1961 Available at:
• Baroque Lady Mule, Wooden Heel Covered With Leather (17th Century)
• Casadei Wooden Platform And Heel 2011 [Online Image] Available at:
• Dutch Classic Clogs (1960) [Online Image] Available at:
• Hugo Alvar Hendrik Chair No. 31 1930 [Online Image]
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/139681/The-PT-20-a-patrol-torpedo-boat-of-the-US [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://indiefixx.com/2008/07/09/wednesday-indie-artist-fixx-with-mohop/ [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://badinicreateam.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/audrey-hepburn-breakfast-at-tiffanys.html [Accessed 26 November 2012] Available at: http://www.shoeblog.com/blog/friday-shoe-history-corner-elegant-17th-century-mules [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://www.stylebop.com/designers/damen/131601-casadei-schuhe.html [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://www.etsy.com/listing/63511430/vintage-wooden-shoes-dutch-clogs [Accessed 26 November 2012]
Available at: http://www.design-technology.org/alvar1.htm [Accessed 26 November 2012]
• Marianne Brandt’s Art Deco Coffee And Tea Set 1924 [Online Image] Available at:
• Oak Faced Plywood Panel Door/Room 1920-1930 [Online Image] Available at:
• John Galliano’s Platform plywood soles for Dior’s Fall Season (2009)
• Pompeian’s ‘Votive Offering’ case [Online Image] Available at:
• Victoria and Albert Museum: Louis Majorelle-Art Nouveau Chair (1890-1900) [Online Image] Available at:
• Vintage Photo Of Coco Chanel 2-Piece-Suite 1920 [Online Image]
• William Van Alen’s Chrysler Building 1931 [Online Image] Available at:
http://pinterest.com/stitchnwitcher/artifacts/ [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://sites.salvoweb.com/info_uk-heritage.co.uk/49529/a-1920-30-s-oak-panelled-room-study.html [Accessed 26 November 2012] Available at: http://www.shoeblog.com/blog/obligatory-john-galliano-post/ [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://collectingvintagecompacts.blogspot.com/2011/04/fall-of-pompeian-not-eruption-of.html [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://furnish.co.uk/features/535-style-guide-art-nouveau [Accessed 26 November 2012] Available at: http://shoeblogs.com/consolation/the-chanel-suit/ [Accessed 26 November 2012] http://mybt.budgettravel.com/_Chrysler-Building-in-New-York-CIty/photo/8405954/21864.html?enlarge=true [Accessed 26 November 2012]