Salehe Bembury started his career with Payless, but moved up to Versace and Yeezy.  “Think back to when you were a kid and you laced up the first pair of sneakers you really wanted. It's that feeling. It's the notion that through design lines, color palette, and storytelling, one can feel superhuman. Furthermore, in the case of some athletes, we would witness their super human power while they wore the same sneakers. After watching Superman you would make a cape out of a bed sheet and think you could fly. A good sneaker design is one that transcends function and taps into emotion,” Bembury describes as the inspiration for his shoes.  https://bdgastore.com/blogs/blogdega/in-conversation-with-salehe-bembury.   Bembury’s collaboration with New Balance, “Peace be the Journey” reflects his love for the outdoors and the peace he finds hiking out west after moving from New York.  His Pollex Croc is composed of 3 of his fingerprints.  

When asked why he was inspired to use a fingerprint to design his crocs, he said,”  My brand identity is the fingerprint.  I have always been a  really big fan of wood grain…I actually have this full image of a fingerprint next to the wood grain of a tree stump right next to each other.  They’re pretty similar”(Semmelhack,166).  Bembury also recognized the fingerprint ridges provided traction and channels for water if needed.  

Does anyone actually read anything put in the Suggestion Box?  D’Wayne Edwards probably wondered that as he toiled away filing papers in his account payable job at LA Gear as a high school graduate.  However, he continued to submit his designs every day for six months until the president called him into his office with all 180 designs spread out and hired him.  He became one of the lead black designers in his field, and helped create the Nike Air Jordan.  Edwards actually left his dream job to create the Pensole Footwear Design Academy in Detroit that educates students from all walks of life, and he gets companies to fund scholarships to find undiscovered talent. His 4 minute NPR  interview could inspire students to explore a nearby shoe design school (https://www.npr.org/2018/02/16/586616105/how-dwayne-edwards-became-a-sneaker-legend). Edwards opened the first black-owned shoe factory called JEMS for the first black shoemaker, Jan Ernst Matzeliger.  He believes in making affordable shoes for everyone, so he teamed up with Target to create a line of shoes for under $50 a pair(https://www.blackenterprise.com/dwayne-edwards-adjustable-footwear-target-hbcu). 

Mr. Bailey uses biomimicry when designing his octopus tentacles in his shoes.

Zaha Hadid was a well known architect before she designed shoes. 

Sahin is a prolific designer that grew up in Turkey.” I was a shoe shiner when I was 11-years-old, which looking back, is when my career technically started. I’d take worn-out shoes and clean them up; painting and replacing parts. The type didn't matter. When it came to sneakers, I was always obsessed with Converse. Even when I was studying at university, it was my dream to work for the brand. I couldn't find an authentic pair because I was living in a really small town. My first sneaker was a pair of fake Converse.”  After graduating from a Turkish university, he got fired from his first design job because they did not like his designs.  However, that did not deter him from studying fine art and working on the mechanical side of production with gluing and leather.

He began to show his designs on Instagram and developed a following.” Instagram also started around this time, and I posted every day. I targeted doing one per day for six months, no matter what. This idea came from Steve Jobs. He said to put one dot every day. One day you will realize that the dot is actually huge. After six months, I got an offer from Nike. They said, “We were following you for a long time”’(https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/safa-sahin-footwear-vanguard-interview/).  He continues to design sneakers, casual shoes, and high heels, drawing inspiration from sci-fi and nature, using AI as a tool.  Sahin describes his creative development in an interview with SOMA magazine(https://www.somamagazine.com/shoegaze/)

At what point in your life did you realize you wanted to be a designer?
When I won the 1st place prize as a shoe designer (Detay Deri Tasarim Yarismasi), I knew I wanted to design shoes.

From your twelve years of designing so far, what can you tell young hopefuls about the industry?
Work only on your portfolio for a couple of years to grow and get better. Study graphics in magazines to develop your personal style and eye for design.

What decade in history produced the most aesthetically-pleasing shoes?
The 1990s. Technology erupted in this era which influenced shoe designers who produced iconic tech shoes.

Who, in design, or in general, inspires and motivates your work? Do you enjoy designing other items beyond footwear?
Alexander McQueen, who had a different perspective. Yes. I design bags and other products.

What can you tell us about your process for design?
I play mystic music throughout my design process at every stage. This influence helps me to determine my topic and begin to sketch. After I develop a sketch I like, I begin drawing a full rendering.

Describe the type of person who would most enjoy your work.
Otherworldly. Eccentric. Someone who lives in their dreams.

Is there a famous person you would love to see wearing your designs?
Lady Gaga, Bjork – eccentric artists.

What is the future of your design work? What can you tell us about an upcoming project?
I am working on a winter 2019 collection of high heels influenced by Japanese traditional culture.

If you weren’t designing shoes, what other type of career would you like to undertake?
I would be a contemporary artist or painter.

How would you like your work to be remembered?
Just crazy.

 EKTO VR designs boots for virtual games. Have you ever wanted to get your child to leave their video game long enough to exercise?  Well, here is the answer.  Players have long used joysticks as a tool, but VR boots work with these tools to make the player feel as though they are walking in a fantasy world.  The main design challenge is trying to make them less clunky.  This video shows a young man testing them out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cJYOz8iyJ4&t=498s Currently these Virtual Reality boots cost at least $6,000, but they are hoping to some day be able to sell them for $500.    You have to admire Brad Factor’s creative workshop covered in sticky notes, much like aesthetic education classrooms!

Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen explore high tech collaboration and 3D printing, but her greatest inspiration is nature.  She grew up without a television or computer and appreciated the time she had to create.  Recently she used magnets with iron fillings in resin to create a dramatic motion shoe.  Her designs have been displayed in MoMA and worn by many celebrities such as Beyonce, Grimes, Jennifer Lopez, Scarlett Johansson, and Rihanna (https://www.irisvanherpen.com/muse-moments). 

Meleard began his career as an ice hockey player, but moved on to shoe design because he loves women's feet and the ridiculous extremes. He created the heel-less tip toe shoe like the kind Lady Gaga likes to wear, calling it "a cruel collection, just as every fashion diktat is cruel" (https://fashion.mam-e.it/meleard/). Meleard uses unconventional materials such as jersey material and eccentric elastic band placements.

 Although SCRY uses the word that means to predict the future, such as using a crystal ball, they like to consider themselves the future.  Scry creates futuristic style shoes and describes its 3 D printing design process as using “digital embryo technology.”  Most shoes are black or gray, but its neon Neptune Forster, which costs over $1,000, has sold out.Zixiong Wei:

Zixiong Wei is an up and coming shoe designer and head of emerging avant-garde footwear brand SCRY™  Lab in Beijing. His interest in sneakers began in high school and from there he began researching, reading footwear magazines, and collecting footwear. Sustainability, the endless possibilities in prototypes, and the ability to create made-to-order footwear are some of the reasons Wei gravitated towards 3D printing footwear.

Wei says with “SCRY™ Lab wants to showcase what’s possible in the realms of experimentation – if a prototype doesn’t work, that’s okay because it still did something, it still pushes the boundaries of what could be possible.”