Shoes, quite like cars, phones, and all other objects, are limited by the technology available to them. Amazonians dipped their feet into liquid rubber before woven fabric/canvas and processed leather was a reality. The Crocs couldn’t have been possible had it not been for injection molding, and it’s only now that companies like Adidas and Nike are experimenting with 3D printing – a technology that has just recently become an industrial reality. This Balenciaga high-heel footwear concept was designed by OJB Studio keeping potential future technologies in mind. “In this Balenciaga concept, [current] manufacturing boundaries and constraints were excluded, with freedom and imagination leading the way”, Ollie of OJB Studio told Yanko Design. “This process enables a fast and efficient way of experimental aesthetic ideation, providing some rather wild, yet desirable designs.”
Designer: OJB Studio
The brief for the specific concept was to create a Balenciaga high heel for the near future, inspired by elements of a sneaker. It’s purely a visual exercise that aims at determining what the future of fashion in the footwear industry will look like. Although haute couture does tend to stray away from comfort and ergonomics, this particular concept is more of a visual exploration than an actual template. The shoes take on a rather fluid, almost alien-like form that feels like a nod to modern-day shoe design often seen commercially with Yeezy’s line of footwear. Elements of hard plastic are wonderfully punctuated by woven fabric and even what looks like carbon-fiber trims. “Using various materials and textures added contrast to the layering of the heel, allowing for certain features to be distinguished and highlighted, for example, the hard flowing structures against the soft mesh fabrics”, Ollie mentioned.
