Humble accessory no more, the shoe has graduated into becoming any ensemble’s main focal point. Like little sculptures for the feet, this new breed of shoes escape their traditional form and construction while challenging current footwear archetypes and exploring the liberties of design –reasonable excuse to enclose such sole-full creations in a glass case rather than be laid in an unworthy shoe rack.

London-based Dutch designer Marloes ten Bhömer consistently defies the generic typologies of women’s shoes through experiments with non-traditional technologies and material techniques. “By reinventing the process by which footwear is made,” she says, “the resulting shoes serve as unique examples of new aesthetic and structural possibilities, while also serving to criticize the conventional status of women’s shoes as cultural objects.”

Her worldly approach to shoe design may be attributed to her extensive education and apprenticeships from her notable mentors. Bhomer spent her undergraduate years at the Higher School of Arts Arnhem with a 3D Design Course. She then completed her MA in Design Products, under the tutelage of renowned architect Ron Arad, at the Royal College of Art in London. Bhomer further honed her skills at the London College of fashion for Footwear and Computer Summer school. After which her remarkable work experiences include participating in shoe projects for Alexander McQueen and Boudicca.

Bhömer’s shoes are a synthesis of what seems to be Japanese origami, modern architecture, and avant-garde couture. Geometric folds, curvaceous shapes, future-forward designs.…It’s a shoe engineering revolution. They’re stylized forms of rebellion from the usual clichés of shoe lines and shapes. Quoting from design and architecture critic Shumon Basar, “If the key commandment of glamorous, upscale shoe design for women is to amplify and exaggerate the curves of the human foot, ten Bhömer’s shoes are riotous and sensuous sinners.” What could fuel such an eccentric designer’s point of view?

“Mystery is my inspiration, the inherent logic and mystery in machines and their highly specific language of efficiency. This language has as much to do with concealing as it has with revealing and within this contradiction lays a multitude of opportunities for interpretation,” says ten Bhömer. “My work explores this void.”

Demonstrating such provocative ideas in footwear, Bhömer’s range of designs includes pieces made using carbon fiber, stainless steel, fiberglass, vegetable tanned leather, tarpaulin, polyurethane resin among others, and uses technological processes such as: CNC (computer numerical control) milling, rotational moulding, rapid prototyping and carbon fiber laminating. CNC milling is a process whereby a computer reads a 3D computer model and drives a milling machine to fabricate components by the selective removal of material. In rotational moulding, a negative mould is filled with a small amount of liquid and as the mould starts to rotate, this material solidifies against the inner walls of the mould, forming a shell with a hollow form. Rapid prototyping on the other hand, takes virtual 3D models and transforms them into thin, virtual, horizontal cross-sections and then creates each cross-section in physical space, one after the next until the model is finished.

A technique that Bhömer invented herself is a leather laminating, leather-mâché technique. “This technique was specifically invented to create a shoe without any pattern developing time and varied wall thicknesses. This allows for a shoe to be made that traces the form of the foot exactly on the inside, allowing the external silhouette to differ from the convention of the foot.”

But one need not be intimidated with the intricacy and intensive craftsmanship of her shoes. Bhömer’s shoes are designed not just to be adored visually but to actually be worn and used. “They are as comfortable as any high heeled shoe. When designing shoes, in the first instance, I never let functionality or comfort get in the way of my formal exploration. The objective of these formal explorations is to discover shoes anew. Sometimes they are translated into functional objects… their function varies from catwalk pieces, pieces that exist in photographs to technically sound footwear.”

Production for each pair depends on the duration of technical preparations and tests needed to translate shoe concepts into actual footwear. “The shoe I am currently developing has taken roughly 2 years to develop. The actual making of the shoe itself can take from one day up to 3 weeks depending on the amount of handwork needed.” It appears to be a tedious process…a tango between trial and error, moulding and de-moulding. A page at Bhömer’s website showcases the step-by-step procedure for constructing the “Rotationalmouldedshoe.” A futuristic machine that could be mistaken as a piece of equipment from some genetics lab steals the spotlight from a seemingly simple assembly line of production. The moulding and folding of the actual shoe appears to be an instructional catalogue for Japanese origami. The detailing and intricacy of each piece obviously cannot be rushed, like how any other piece of art cannot be commercially mass produced.

In 2006, after a tough application process, NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) awarded Bhömer a business set-up grant. The organization is the largest single endowment devoted exclusively to supporting talent, creativity in the UK. NESTA works to transform UK’s capacity for innovation which they believe thrives when talented individuals with remarkable ideas are given support, motivation, and incentives. NESTA’s program encourages individuals with creative endeavors who and are in the early stages of their careers to become successful entrepreneurs. It provides education, training, and funding. Successful candidate are those who possess the most original, pioneering ideas that demand alternative methods and development.

“With this grant I have been able to develop one of my shoe concepts and execute it into an actual shoe. All components of this shoe are custom produced by partners ranging from industrial manufacturers in Asia to artisans in the UK and the Netherlands. Technical development has been managed by myself in consultation of some of the most skilled people in the footwear and design industry ranging from engineers to orthopedics to traditionally trained shoemakers.” Bhömer’s latest shoe designs will be launched in her website this July.

But one might not probably spot this non-conformist’s creations at Saks Fifth Avenue or Barneys New York anytime soon. “I am only interested in creating a “ready-to-wear” line when this line would be informed by an interesting production technique that makes sense for the production of such a line. What will be interesting to see is whether the aesthetics will be able to sustain within such a [commercial] line.” Clearly, Bhömer’s not going mainstream just yet. With footwear that speaks a different language, something definitely foreign to any self-acclaimed shoe enthusiast, it is perhaps an acquired fashion taste…a refreshing one nevertheless. Private collectors and galleries are her current followers but with the launching of her new collection next month, this just might create waves in the fashion world all over again. Invention may become the mother of necessity.

This maverick of shoe design has paved for shoe enthusiasts and converts alike, new paths in rediscovering their heeled treasures. Like an avid architect-cum-artist, Bhömer with her innate passion for the unconventional, and atypical exercise of creativity, is taking giant steps in shoe design and will continue to transform foot space into tangible, mobile art.

>Written by d/visible contributor Romina Tobias.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 11:10 am and is filed under Technology, Fashion, Culture, Interview, Art & Design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.