marla marchant

Marla Marchant

Master’s Project

Woven high heels a gaze at traditions to resignify the ritual and beauty of

craftsmanship

MA Fashion Footwear London College of Fashion

Craftsmanship embodies the hand and mind of the people who create it. It is a testimony to the beauty and inheritance of the traditions, being one of the duties that still remain with its distinguishing trait of being passed down through familial generations.

Nowadays, the quality and details are rarely seen in traditional hand-crafting Shoe making is an example of craftsmanship that has been rethought, creating a contemporary image. Unfortunately, within industrialization and mass production craftsmanship has been less and less appreciat-ed, both economically and spiritually. The result is that the calibre of their quality has deteriorated, bearing no relation to the quality work their grandfathers or teachers used to produce, which required great attention, taking care with the smallest details, and giving all the time necessary to produce a superior product.

Accordingly, weaving is the main theme of this collection, where craftsmanship has been rethought. Creating a contemporary image that invites us to visit the past in order to glimpse the future has been achieved by modernizing traditional techniques and accessing the latest technologies which use alternative materials.This happens through respecting its relationship with the past, while accepting new ways of working and making them their own.

The aim of incorporating handcrafted pieces and processes is not only because the concept originates from weaves and their relation with hand-making; it also enhances the idea of working with rustic materi-als and processes. This is a response against the fast fashion and over-rated luxury which lead to impulsive consumption, disposable prod-ucts, and brands as a signi�er of status, rather than design and quality. This approach rejects the uniformity and repetitiveness of mass production, where the imperfection of the craft process is usually thought of as a failure.

Objectives

The objective is to develop 8 experimental shoes which state a particu-lar point of view and conception of craftsmanship and to introduce new elements and experimental techniques to the �led.The collection should show cohesiveness on its own, having a relation-ship and being conscious of the wearer’s body and how extreme high heels modify their silhouette.The aesthetic enhances the weightlessness of female body, creating the illusion of hanging from a net, tying the feet down and bearing the netting into a three dimensionality. It pursues long and thin shapes while the body’s expression plays to be restricted, appearing fragile and instable from a podium that empowers it.

Woven high heels A gaze at traditions to resignify the ritual and beauty of craftsmanship.

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Top lift

white

rivet insole

sock lining

washer

heelout sole

Style number 1

Date 30 November 2012Last number SL22055 Upper material white sheepskinUpper lining white pigskinSock lining white padded sheepskinOut sole natural vegetable tanned leather Insole traditional cardbord insole and shankHeel rapid prototyped titanium structureand white leather stripsHeel height 6 inches Platform height Top lift natural vegetable tanned leather Logo silver

PatternSock lining

Sole

insolesock lining

heelout soleshank

NotesThe out sole is stitched to the upper, which is a sort of moccasin shoe (pattern number 2).The shoe is traditionally lasted. The sock lining is removed to weave the heel which is attached to the insole by hand stitches, rivets and washers.

Color palette

thread

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

Top lift

NotesThe out sole is stitched to the upper, which is a sort of moccasin shoe (pattern number 2).The shoe is traditionally lasted. The sock lining is removed to weave the heel which is attached to the insole by rivets and washers.

Color palette

white riv

et insole

sock lining

washer

heelout sole

Style number 2

Date 30 November 2012Last number SL22055 Upper material white sheepskinUpper lining white pigskinSock lining white padded sheepskinOut sole natural vegetable tanned leather Insole traditional cardbord insole and shankHeel rapid prototyped titanium structureand white leather stripsHeel height 6 inches Platform height Top lift natural vegetable tanned leather Logo silver

PatternSock lining

Sole

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

Top lift

NotesThe out sole is stitched to the upper, which is a sort of moccasin shoe (pattern number 2).The shoe is traditionally lasted. The sock lining is removed to weave the heel which is attached to the insole by rivets and washers.

Color palette

white riv

et insole

sock lining

washer

heelout sole

Style number 3

Date 30 November 2012Last number SL22055 Upper material white sheepskinUpper lining white pigskinSock lining white padded sheepskinOut sole natural vegetable tanned leather Insole traditional cardbord insole and shankHeel rapid prototyped titanium structureand white leather stripsHeel height 6 inches Platform height Top lift natural vegetable tanned leather Logo silver

PatternSock lining

Sole

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

Top lift

NotesThe upper, which is a sort of moccasin shoe (pattern number 2), is lasted and cut to �t the heel. Then, the outsole and sock lining is removed to stitch the out sole to the upper and the upper is hand stitched to the heel structure. The heel is attached to the sole by rivets and washers.

Color palette

white riv

et insole

sock lining

washer

heelout sole

Style number 4

Date 30 November 2012Last number SL22055 Upper material white sheepskinUpper lining white pigskinSock lining white padded sheepskinInsole bending white sheepskinOut sole natural vegetable tanned leather Insole bending traditional cardbord insole without shank Heel rapid prototyped titanium structure and white leather stripsHeel height 6 inches Platform height Top lift natural vegetable tanned leatherLogo silver

PatternSock lining

Sole

Style number 5

Date 30 November 2012Last number Upper material rapid prototyped titaniumUpper lining Sock lining white padded sheepskinInsole vegetable tanned leather Out sole white sheepskin Heel rapid prototyped titanium structureHeel height 8 inches Platform height 2 inchesTop lift natural vegetable tanned leather and white leather stripsLogo silver

PatternSock lining

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

Top lift

NotesThe sole is molded through a boiling process.The sock lining, insole and out sole are glued together and hand stitched to the heel structure.

Color palette

white

Style number 6

Date 30 November 2012Last number SL22055 Upper material white leather strips Upper lining Sock lining white leather stripsInsole bending Out sole Heel rapid prototyped titanium structureHeel height 10 inchesPlatform height 4.5 inchesTop lift natural vegetable tanned leather and white padded sheepskin

PatternSole

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

NotesThe top lift layers are glued together and hand stitched to the heel structure. The upper and sole are knotted around the titaniumstructure.

Color palette

white

Top lift

1

Style number 7

Date 30 November 2012Last number SL22055 Upper material white leather strips Upper lining Sock lining white leather stripsInsole bending Out sole Heel rapid prototyped titanium structureHeel height 10 inches Platform height 4.5 inchesTop lift natural vegetable tanned leather and white padded sheepskin

PatternSole

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

NotesThe top lift layers are glued together and hand stitched to the heel structure. The upper and sole are knotted around the titaniumstructure.

Color palette

white

Top lift

Style number 8

Date 30 November 2012Last number Upper material white leather strips Upper lining Sock lining red padded sheepskinInsole vegetable tanned leather Out sole white sheepskin Heel rapid prototyped titanium structureHeel height 10.6 inches Platform height 2 inchesTop lift natural vegetable tanned leatherLogo white

PatternSock lining

SPEC

IFIC

ATIO

N S

HEE

T

Top lift

NotesThe sole is molded through a boiling process.The sock lining, insole and out sole are glued together and hand stitched to the heel structure.

Color palette

white red