FEET-FOOTWEAR AWARENESS
Category: Footwear
Competitions: Africa
REAL LEATHER STAY DIFFERENT AFRICA 2025 PRESENTED BY GEORGE OTIENO NAIROBI KENYA Project brief We are living in modern times, times of awareness and abundance of information and knowledge. However, our awareness has been less towards our health in regards to footwear and our feet in general. We consume a lot of fast fashion with little knowledge on the recommended shoe an individual should wear based on their feet types. In the long end majority of people eventually start developing feet problems later in life, majorly caused by wearing wrong shoes. In Real Leather Stay Different Africa 2025, I am going to design and develop an artistic shoe concept with a merger of sustainability and ergonomics. This is 100% sustainable concept shoe from material sourcing, development process with an angle to human health. I will be using real leather and other sustainable materials to help me create a de-constructible shoe that can be worn to multiple occasions, and will also address various lower limb challenges faced by individuals on their daily lives, majority caused by shoes. According to journal of foot and ankle research, states that, footwear has been used by humans for approximately 30,000 years. Although originally worn as a protective covering for the foot, modern footwear is designed to fulfil a range of purposes, the accomplishment of which is judged by three criteria: form, function and fit. Form relates to the aesthetic appeal of footwear, while function relates to the ability of footwear to accomplish its intended purpose. Fit pertains to how footwear can accommodate the morphology of the foot. Footwear fitting is acknowledged as being vitally important as in most cases fit governs function. This means that footwear cannot fulfil its intended purpose if it does not fit the foot correctly. It has also been suggested that incorrectly fitted footwear is a major contributor to the development of structural foot disorders. Another research states that foot pathology and pain is reported in approximately 24–30% of the adult population with it being one of the top 20 reasons for seeing a doctor when over the age of 65. Foot pain has been associated with reduced mobility, decreased leg strength and an increase in falls risk. Ill-fitting footwear can increase foot pain, reduce stability, inhibit relevant rehabilitation and increase hyperkeratotic lesions. Footwear characteristics such as heel height, toe box width, sole hardness and thickness have all been identified as elements that contribute to foot pain. The styling and fit of footwear worn can accelerate the chances of foot pain and the development of progressive foot deformity and pathology. Narrow toe boxes have been found to restrict the movement of the forefoot resulting in a stiffer foot prone to increased stress from loading as well as significantly increasing dorsal and plantar forefoot pressures. Fastening techniques used in shoe design have been shown to influence the normal width expansion of the shoes upper around the metatarsal heads, which if compressed increases internal stresses. With information gathered from various research articles, we can clearly see that cases of feet problems caused by wearing wrong shoes are increasing over time. As a footwear designer it would be a great contribution and inspiration to both local and international footwear industry to design fashion with a purpose. Designing shoes that can create convenience for people on their daily lives. In this project I am going to mainly focus on feet pain experienced at pressure point areas of the feet. Using real soft leather and other sustainable materials. I will be designing insole foot beds with padding on pressure point areas to help absorb more shock during mobility, keeping the wearer more comfortable.This will be ideal for individuals with tenderness on their feet like arthritis, people working for longer hours while standing e.g producers. Real leather will be used to bring the essence of fashion, utility, durability, versatility and sustainability. Other materials like form and rubber will be incorporated to help with more shock absorption and added comfort. Upcycled waste vehicle tire will also be used as the bottom soles because of their grip, sustainability and longevity. This will also help address the environmental degradation caused by waste landfill tires and promotion of our Kenyan sustainable culture of making shoes using waste vehicle tires. This shoe will be a tool used to awaken the masses to start paying attention to the types of shoes they buy. To purchase fashion from the point of knowledge in terms of materials used, their construction and how the shoe will impact their lives and general health. This will reduce the need to frequently purchase low quality fast fashion to purchasing quality sustainable fashion from a point of knowledge.
