Learning Outcomes SLEM Waalwijk
WHAT HAS THE MASTERCLASS GIVEN ME: • A clear industry advantage. • A greater appreciation for the scale and complexity of the footwear manufacturing process. • The confidence to lead design projects and make critical decisions. • A greater understanding of the cycle of trends and how they influence society. • A potentially long-term career in my dream role.
Footwear design
CAT Footwear: Brand positioning
This project required me to identify for CAT whether the advertising campaign for their AW13 ‘CODE’ Streetwear line was reaching out to it’s intended audience and if the shoes in the collection matched the campaign. CAT had proposed that the campaign was potentially too ‘urban’, however I viewed it from a different perspective and suggested that they should be trying to appeal to a more contemporary ‘urban’ audience instead of the fairly dated one they had suggested. Styleboards were created to inform CAT of the potential design direction.
Balance of thingsMens footwear collection
Key outcomes:
• Using a variety of resources to conduct in-depth research that would allow me to develop a rich profile of the target consumer. • Using that research as well as the existing history of the brand to develop a new DNA for the brand to use for future collections. • Developing a complete footwear concept from start to finish for the first time.
Work collection
This goal of this line was to take classic footwear silhouettes such as the Derby, Oxford and Chelsea boot and reinterpret them using modern materials like neoprene and breathable mesh. Rugged outsoles were also used as a way to emphasise the masculine nature of the collection.
OTH Footwear ason: SS14 ollection: ‘Work’ yle: Oxford
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Work’ Style: Derby
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Work’ Style: Monk
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Work’ Style: Chelsea boot
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Work’ Style: Zip boot
Rest collection
This goal of this line was to blur the lines between casual and formal footwear. Using classic silhouettes on modern, streetwear-inspired outsoles, boundaries can be pushed and conventions can be challenged in a way that delivers a strong DNA, a unified collection and a strong showpiece for the brand to market to a growing Chinese audience.
TH Footwear ason: SS14 llection: ‘Rest’ le: Desert boot
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Rest’ Style: Chukka
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Rest’
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14 Collection: ‘Rest’ Style: Oxford
BOTH Footwear Season: SS14
Pantone I was asked by Pantone to develop a set of colour cards and mood boards for the footwear industry. Using diving and the depths of the ocean as the main inspiration, I developed a set of images that were used in Pantones digital colour trend publications.
Project URBAN WARRIOR
Concept Development Flexible Armor
Kickstarter Initiative
Adaptable
Lightweight
Freehand sketching
Prototyping
Pattern trials
3D Mockups
CAD Models
• Modifying lasts to create multiple pullover samples; the end result being to create the ‘perfect’ silhouette.
• Using prototyping materials to create physical representations of paper sketches. The goal was to get a better idea of proportions from a variety of angles.
• Creating virtual models with the intention of prototyping them on either a 3D printer or a 4-axis CNC router.
Range Planning Line Planning
Protectus
Warrior
Sentry
Guardian
Participle prōtēctus (feminine prōtēcta, neuter prōtēctum); 1. covered 2. protected 3. defended
Style: Zip Silhouette: High Size range: 41-47
Base colours 19-4007 tpx
19-4305 tpx
Style: Zip Silhouette: Mid Size range: 37-47 19-4007 tpx 13-4909 tpx
19-0506 tpx 18-4005 tpx Pop colours
Style: Zip/ Quick release Silhouette: Low adaptive Size range: 37-47 19-4007 tpx 18-5718 tpx
Pop colours
19-4007 tpx 16-1356 tpx Pop colours
PROJECT ILLUMI Key outcomes: • Taking an initial concept to a ready-tomanufacture product. • Developing a visual DNA that will inform the entire upcoming collection. • Establishing working relationships with product developers and manufacturers. • Establishing an ongoing partnership with my client that will allow me to get even more industry experience.
a e k li l e e f o t s d e e n r e m u s n “Our co . ” s e o h s e s e h t in y celebrit Conclusions: • To take a shoe from an initial concept to a productionready item takes a large group of people with a variety of skillsets. • One must provide the manufacturer with as many details as possible about the intended design. • Build an overall concept that is commercial before focusing in on the details.
BEFORE
Section A1-A2 Lighting system schematic
A1
LEARNING THROUGH DOING Anti-slip profile detail Bottom profile
AFTER
Lateral cross-section
Lateral profile
• The most valuable experiences I had were being able to take all of the theory I had learned and put it into practice in real-world design situations. • Doing real projects allowed me to develop my skillset at A2 a quicker rate than a theoretical project.