Vandura Heritage Boot

Category: Footwear

Vandura Heritage Boot is an Shona word meaning to transform. Turning thrash into valuable goods and telling the Zimbabwean story.This project is in inspired by innovation, upcycling and waste reduction and the promotion of circular economy to move away from the linear 'take - make- waste ' model. This project shall use discarded recycled tyres collected from dumping sites and local garages to give a them a second life chance and save landfill. Tyres are a non-biodegradable material. Leather offcuts shall be collected from local tanners. Vandura boot is a casual outdoor boot with a sleek timeless silhouette and designed for resilience, endure and to suit rugged and smooth surfaces Africa. The boot shall use discarded recycled tyres as outsole and to enable high traction and to make the boot perform better than most fast fashion shoes.The recycled tyre Outsole, midsole, insole, welt and full grain leather upper shall use traditional stitchdown method to enhance durability. The back/rear panels shall be made with textured offcuts and depicting the chevron motif of Great Zimbabwe. That iconic chevron motif symbolizes fertility, flow of life and royal lineage of shona elite. The chevron cut pieces shall be supported with pure cotton fabric and stitched with a contrast thread and leather lined. The gaps between the chevron pieces shall improve the breathability and flow of air into the boot shaft. The pieces were intentionally put in this design not as a decoration to tell a Zimbabwean story as functional design for a purpose. The Chevron textured pattern is also going to give a natural and visual aesthetics to the boot. Putting the offcuts at side panels was strategic because there is less flexing and this can not weaken the boot. Vandudza heritage boot is not silent but its a conversation starter to Zimbabwean stories a common feature not available to most modern day heritage boots. The front part of the boot shall be plain to give the boot balance and not to disturb the anatomical flex zones in front. The back heel shall be supported by a full grain leather protective shield in 3 tier stitching to give maximum strength. The heel stack shall use wood to reduce the weight of the boot. The tongue lining shall also play a dual purpose. It shall also be used as a journey log patch where the wearer can personalize the boot by writing his details such as name, contact details,repairs done to the boot and places visited. This gives the wearer an emotional attachment to the boot because one can not lose something carring your personal information but to opt for repairing. This feature or facility is not available on most the heritage boots on the market. No plastics shall be used in this project. The use of tyre as as an outsole is geared on improving the performance of the boot and durability. The boot can be repaired by local shoe artisans and can be produced at minimal cost by SMEs in Africa. The Vandura heritage boot is built to last, endure and very durable and its ready for the African terrain. Its not mass produced.