Christian Ferrara

The footwear industry is a saturated market, characterised by an endless accumulation of technical materials and an overabundance of complex techniques that have little impact on the average user’s performance. In a world that is now looking towards sustainability and attempting to move away from overconsumption, this competition between brands seems obsolete.

What if the future of shoe-making was as simple as thinking it in 2D?

Morph Shoe questions the manufacturing processes of the footwear industry and how mass production compromises our needs and comfort for productivity purposes. It aimed to find solutions towards the simplification of their fabrication and therefore the implementation of a more ecological approach into their conception.

The product is composed of two materials: a polyester fabric and a thermo polyurethane (TPU). The technique is based on the use of a simple heat press that plays on the levels of stretchability of the materials through their fusion. The stretchable and rigid zones, and sole, are applied to the required areas in order to provide them with either flexibility or rigidity. With this process, the product is manufactured in 2D from beginning to end.

This whole process allows a more efficient use of the material and a more ecological shoe. The exploitation of the materials’ thermal properties in Morph Shoe results in the elimination of toxic glues and stitching from the production process. It reduces the need for labour force and avoids the use of complex machinery. Expenses are greatly lowered as only a conventional heat press is needed for the production. The manufacturing time is dramatically sped up. Being made as a two- dimensional object, the shoe can be shipped flat-pack in an envelope, which radically improves the ecological dimension of its transport.

In terms of the afterlife of the shoe, the TPU sole is a one hundred percent recyclable material that can be detached from the fabric by simply reheating it.

Focusing on material experimentation and breaking down a manufacture process and its specific outcomes allowed me to satisfy my various interests and multi-disciplinary vision of product design.