Here are some concepts that I have been developing lately. Initially this project started out as the KG Benz contest but I later decided to leave that and pursue my present passion for sculptural moulded parts. The inspiration for this concept was drawn from mohawk hair cuts and comedy court jester footwear. The challenge was to take those influences and transform them into a ladies lifestyle product with a subtle sports emphasis. I wanted the moulded mohawk fin to do all the talking, so I kept the design and patterns simple with a sharp tailored aesthetic.
materials - suede toe, leather and elastic upper, urethane fin and sole. Time allowing, the next job is to test it out, maybe make some rubber fins and attach them to some random shoes in order to evaluate any problems, they may not flex comfortably. Will try and do a guys version too.
Critiques?, how do you think it might translate in to a mens shoe?, Do you think there be a big enough market to make it worth the investment in tooling for the fin?
why?
I don’t get it.
I think it would seriously impede the flex.
Is this a cool looking shoe to you? I understand if you have some visual fixation on this idea. It happens. Maybe this is something that some other people will be attracted to, I don’t know.
Now a ridge on the heel, sort of a stylized wing, might be something. Maybe to symbolize the winged foot of Nike (the mythological character), but thats supposedly what their swoosh does already.
I understand that sometimes a creative person may be given a broad definition of a project to run with. Sometimes the direction may seem very strange or even contrary to other necessary elements. It can be a challenge, and it can be rewarding. But this almost seems like a joke. I guess that would be why I am more amused than intrigued by haute couture.
This is by no means a joke or a piece of haute couture. It is intended for everyday casual wear. I have been trying to think of a way to better explain my idea, but I can’t. I suppose if you don’t get it, you never will because I think an individuals response to footwear is immediate (love/hate/ok) due to taste, culture, socioeconomic conditions etc.
For me, footwear is like writing a poem or making sculpture, an expressive aesthetic activity that exists beyond necessity in the realms of desire.
i think it is cool to use a mohawk as inspiration for a shoe.
the fin however may be to literal a representation. maybe if you dove into the mohawk culture the 80’s punk that made it popular and the cuture that surrounds it now. you have some cool ideas but i think that you can go deeper
the shoe (sans the “mohawk” detail) is actually quite nice.
but does the interpretation of the concept need to be so literal?
couldn’t this be achieved more subtly in, say, a seam or stitching?
I like the inspiration, but this looks like a designerley shoe with a fin tacked on. If someoen showed me this shoe and asked me where the idea came from would say from fish and elf shoes, not B.A. from the A-team. He might pitty the fool that would wear these.
I think a rougher, more indie looking shoe with a turned out seam like on a wallabie or something running down the center woulf evoke what you are trying to do.
Unless you are just trying to back fill a justification for a tacked on, expensive molded element that would inhibit flex.
Originaly I saw my post as less harsh, but I’m in a rush and don’t have time to rephrase.
will ultraman be able to battle giant monsters in those?
it could be a cool idea just maybe not the perfrect way to implement it? but what do i know, i guess i will never understand “due to taste, culture, socioeconomic conditions etc.”[/quote]
i agree with everyone in general, it should not be so literal. perhaps on the contrary though, i must add, your concept is lost somewhere between a mohawk and a platypus. if it is indeed your uncontrollable desire to make such a literal translation of the inspiration, please make it resemble a mohawk. the chop jobs in the pics all had a spikey feel to it, very aggressive look. but your shoe turned out really really “soft” on the eyes.
ps: my comments are based on the fact that i looked at your shoe first, and then the text /bg pics etc. and i did not see a mohawk shoe, i saw a plant / see eel / platypus bill etc. i respect your pleasant rendering though.
maybe 5, 7 and 10 look a little more like a literal mohawk.