
To question the prevailing value of the fashion industry and explore new forms of production, Amsterdam-based designer Elisa van Joolen decided to up-cycle footwear and breathe new life into sample stock of branded sneakers.
For her project entitled ‘Invert Footwear’, van Joolen collected sample stocks from previous seasons—that would’ve otherwise thrown out—from shoe manufacturing giants such as Nike, Clarks, and Converse, and turned them inside-out.
Devoid of graphics and branding that’s usually seen on the outside, the new aesthetics of her incarnated shoes emphasize the handicraft work taken to make them, as seen in the visible stitching—raising the questions of when is something considered a handicraft and when is it not, because it was mass-produced.
The soles of the shoes were also cut out and turned into flip-flops by threading the laces as straps—also showing that products that were headed for the trash could be turned into something brand new and useful.
According to Dutch Design Awards, “Van Joolen gives a new meaning to recycling. With this collection, she kicks in the shins of international footwear brands and shows them that recycling can go hand in hand with a nice product.”








[via Dutch Design Awards]