Being an ex footwear designer I know how you feel. Sometimes it is attributed to unsavory and malignant forces, other times it could be a matter of universal consciousness, trends, and common knowledge that led to a specific and same result. But most often its not due to the designer’s lack of originality, but the lack of orginiality of the market that push for the similiar result.
I would be interested to know whow much managers such as Tony Karklins, Managing Director of Orbea-USA, had a say in what it was to look like.