Designer Sean Miles has taken the tossed-out old phones and integrated them into iconic footwear, to create retro shoe phones.
Called ‘Walkie Talkies’ (because the shoes can be used to “walk” and “talk”), the up-cycling project—for communication company O2’s Recycle campaign—uses old Nokia and LG handsets sent in by O2 customers.
Miles then builds these old handsets into iconic shoes—such as a Christian Louboutin heel, a classic men’s brogue, a Nike Air trainer, and a Hunter Welly—to create four designs that have duo functions: a phone and a shoe.
Walkie Talkie users can use the shoe to text or call like a normal phone, with the keypad on the shoe’s sole; but when not in use, it can be used walked on.
The designs aim to highlight “what can be done with these old handsets, rather than being sent to landfill”, according to Daily Mail.
As silly as it looks, the Walkie Talkies could help to raise awareness on recycling old gadgets rather than discarding them.
Miles will be developing more ranges of products for the O2 Recycle collection which would include handbags and gloves.
[via Daily Mail, images via O2 Recycle / Rex Features]