Hasta La Ideas

Continuing their commitment to conservation and sustainability, the KEEN Garage in downtown Portland, Oregon reopened after a 10-month renovation of a 105-year-old building that generated less than one dumpster of waste. Incorporating many salvaged elements from the former space opened in 2010, the new Garage presents a playful and…

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Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer has created a collection of sneakers and slip-ons for American shoe company Converse, featuring a handwritten poem celebrating the “sensual curve” for which his architecture is famous (+ slideshow).

Above: Chuck Taylor All Star Chukka Boot

The 104-year-old modernist architect, whose iconic buildings include the spiky Cathedral of Brasilia, reworked five classic styles for Converse, which also reached its 104th birthday this year.

Above: Chuck Taylor All Star Hi

Each design is inspired by a famous poem by Niemeyer: “It is not the right angle that attracts me, nor the straight line, hard and inflexible, created by man. What attracts me is the free and sensual curve — the curve that I find in the mountains of my country, in the sinuous course of its rivers, in the body of the beloved woman.”

Above: Chuck Taylor All Star Oxford

The poem, written in Niemeyer’s handwriting, adorns the canvas upper of the Chuck Taylor All Star Hi sneaker, which also has a red tongue that references the entrance of his Ibirapuera Auditorium in São Paulo.

Above: Jack Purcell

The black edging of the Chuck Taylor All Star Chukka Boot is inspired by a monument against torture designed by Niemeyer, while the lining includes an architectural illustration referencing the Landless Worker’s Movement in Brazil.

Above: Skid Grip Oxford

A red curve outlines the edge of the Chuck Taylor All Star Oxford, while the unusual rounded toe of the Jack Purcell sneaker also ties in with Niemeyer’s curved architecture.

The Skid Grip Oxford slip-on has a red curve on its upper and an extract from the poem wrapped around the right toe.

Earlier this year we featured a series of anaglyphic 3D photographs of Niemeyer’s most iconic buildings, while in 2011 we reported on the Centro Niemeyer arts centre in the Spanish city of Avilés, which was open for just six months before closing down amid claims of financial irregularities.

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Here’s more information from Converse:

Converse Inc. announces the launch of the Converse x Oscar Niemeyer collection. Created inspiring by Oscar Niemeyer’s artwork, world-renowned architect, visionary and creative ambassador, the limited edition collection features five Converse silhouettes, each interpreted through Niemeyer’s outspoken architectural vision.

Born out of a shared passion for creative expression, the new footwear collection launches in Brazil on October 23, 2012 as part of a collaborative effort between Converse and the Oscar Niemeyer Foundation. Inspired by Niemeyer’s motto “It is not the right angle that attracts me…”, the exclusive range celebrates the Brazilian architect’s non-linear design ethos that is present in all of his works.

“Converse footwear includes some of the most iconic, original and modern designs in history,” says Penny Ericson, Vice President, Converse Jack Purcell and Premium. “As one of the great artistic visionaries of our time, Oscar Niemeyer’s work represents those same qualities and we’re excited to help bring that to life with this new collection.”

Born in 1907, Niemeyer’s career spans over eight decades, having established himself as one of Modernism’s greatest pioneers. Through his contemporary use of concrete and bold approach to design, Niemeyer introduced a new way to build ‘curved’ architecture, which has since become his signature, recognised throughout the world. Niemeyer’s bold design approach and outspoken voice revolutionized the way the world looks at architecture and design.

About the Collection

The Converse x Oscar Niemeyer collection features five new iterations of Converse silhouettes, each with a nod to Niemeyer’s legendary curve and his creative, rebellious point of view:

The collection includes a Chuck Taylor All Star Hi sneaker with an all-over canvas print featuring the architect’s famous handwritten poem about curves. Featured in a bold red, the tongue creates an unmistakable reference to the dramatic entrance of São Paulo’s Ibirapuera Auditorium.

The Chuck Taylor All Star Oxford model continues the use of the red curve, this time outlining the edge of the upper, creating a bold contrast to the sneaker’s white canvas. Natural leather accents on the toe bumper, tongue and midsole complete the look of this casual sneaker.

The collection also includes a Chuck Taylor All Star Chukka Boot rendered in a rich, natural suede, was inspired by the monument “Torture Never More”, designed by Niemeyer in 1986. The lining in leather features the architectural illustration referencing the social movement “Landless,” further reinforcing Niemeyer’s beliefs.

A Converse Skid Grip Oxford slip-on features the signature curve as a red outline of the upper and an additional reference to the poem of Curves on the right shoe’s toe. Red stitching and natural colored leather patches on the heel give the overall design a textured look and feel.

Rounding out the collection, a stylish Jack Purcell sneaker features a red and white lace option and the signature Jack “smile” as a playful representation of Niemeyer’s curve.

The Converse x Oscar Niemeyer collection will launch at exclusive retailers across Brazil on October 23. The sneaker range will retail for R$170 – R$270 (85 – 135 USD) and is available in unisex sizing 3.5 – 11.5.

The post The Oscar Niemeyer Collection
for Converse appeared first on Dezeen.

Shoes that undergo physical changes to represent stages in a life cycle – from floating in amniotic fluid to rebirth through fire – form this collection by London designer Benjamin John Hall (+ movie).

Above: “Birth” women’s shoe

Hall told Dezeen that the haute couture collection “is based on the processes and experiences that relate to the themes of birth, life, death and resurrection”.

Above: “Birth” women’s shoe

The collection features seven pairs of shoes: a single pair for resurrection and a men’s and women’s pair for each of the other themes.

Above: “Birth” men’s shoe

The Amniotic Boot, signifying birth, is wrapped in foil that is slowly filled with black ink and then pierced so the ink bleeds out and the foil is removed to reveal the shoe.

Above: “Birth” men’s shoe

Black ink circulates around hospital-grade silicon tubing that is coiled around to create the women’s Birth sandal and when the tube is filled with ink it is snipped at the source like an umbilical chord.

Above: “Life” women’s shoes

Balloons in the sides of the Life shoes are rapidly inflated by gas canisters hidden in the large, hollow wooden soles, before bursting as “an allegory of growth and the unexpected, unpredictable nature of life”, explains Hall.

Above: “Life” women’s shoes

Both pairs of Death shoes explore the “light at the end of the tunnel” philosophy, and the perspex in their soles illuminates and flashes intermittently.

Above: “Life” men’s shoes

The Resurrection shoes were part of a live brief involving the YKK flame-retardant zips attached to the shoes.

Above: “Life” men’s shoes

The zips were tested by dousing the shoes in flammable liquid and setting them alight, leaving the zip unharmed but shrinking the baggy leather so it would fit tightly around the foot.

Above: “Death” women’s shoes

This project was presented with the International YKK Award at International Talent Support in Trieste, Italy, earlier this year.

Above: “Death” women’s shoes

A combination of materials such as wood, perspex and lamb nappa were used to create the collection.

Above: “Death” men’s shoe

The project began as a collaboration with shoe designer Alexandra Groover.

Above: “Death” men’s shoe

The film was made by Stuart Meldrum and photography is by Paul Phung.

Above: “Resurrection” shoes

We’ve recently featured a pair of back-to-front high heels that force the wearer walk in an unusual way. See all our stories about shoes »

Above: “Resurrection” shoes

Here is some information from the designer:

Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection is a seven piece collection of handmade ‘functioning’ footwear pieces.

The collection is presented in a 30 second teaser edit and full length film where the shoes undergo physical processes relating to the themes.

Above: “Resurrection” shoes

Amniotic sacs are opened and umbilical cords are cut. Shoes become alive, they breathe, they grow, they die and are even resurrected in fire.

Above: “Resurrection” shoes

The work touches on some of the extreme differences in people’s attitudes or beliefs surrounding our experience of birth, life, death and resurrection.

Described as ‘experimental’ and ‘transcendental’ the work won the International YKK Award at ITS (International Talent Support) in Trieste, Italy, in July 2012.

The post Birth, Life, Death and Resurrection shoes
by Benjamin John Hall appeared first on Dezeen.

While exploring the many hubs at London Design Festival last month we came across “Bon-Voyager,” a modest display of creative concept products by a select group of young Korean designers. Supported by Korea Design Membership, a government-run initiative to nurture the nation’s best design talent, and presented by University…

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Footwear designer Tracey Neuls explains why she shies away from “disposable fashion” and reveals that many customers consider her shoes “their best kept secret” in this movie Dezeen filmed at the Designed in Hackney Day PechaKucha, part of a series of talks and discussions we hosted in August.

Neuls starts her talk by saying she considers her work to be more akin to design than fashion, before explaining how she tries to create timeless pieces that customers “grow old with” rather than “bored with”.

She describes how she begins the design process by moulding the shoes from plasticine  and why she believes that approaching design like a child adds to the timelessness of the pieces.

Explaining her approach to manufacturing, she reveals that her shoes are made by families who have passed the trade down through generations, unlike most shoes which she describes as being “designed like a kit car, created by selecting pre-fab components”.

Neuls has two shops in London – one on Marylebone Lane, near Bond Street, and one on Rivington Street in Shoreditch – and she describes how a ”no shoes on shelves” policy in her shops provides a different approach to retail, where unique installations “complete the story of the shoes” and make her customers feel special.

She concludes the talk by showing images of the collection she designed in collaboration with designer Tord Boontje, which features autumn leaf motifs.

Neuls has been designing shoes under her own label Tracey Neuls and TN_29 for almost 12 years – see all our stories about her here.

We’ll be publishing movies of the talks over the coming days and you can also watch architects Studio Weave talk about how architects should be wary of “thinking that they know how to do everything” and James Bridle talking how his projects are designed to look like “the internet has escaped out into the streets”.

Designed in Hackney is a Dezeen initiative to showcase world-class architecture and design created in the borough, which was one of the five host boroughs for the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as being home to Dezeen’s offices.

To find out more about the other discussions from Designed in Hackney Day, see our highlights reported here. See more stories about design and architecture from Hackney here.

The post “Customers grow old with our shoes,
not bored with them” – Tracey Neuls appeared first on Dezeen.