2 · The product
What it is, how it’s made, and why it’s made that way
Chapter 2 · In progress
Silhouette, construction and the reason for it, materials and where they come from, the sole, the size run, the colourways. About two pages in the finished plan, with the tech pack in an appendix. Guide: the full plan §2.
Draft
The model name brings together things that five well-known shoes each do on their own:
- leather and suede, which the Chanel runner doesn’t have
- an open mesh like the Bottega Veneta Orbit’s
- a chrome finish like the Chanel runner’s, which Rick Owens × Vans doesn’t have
- the architectural lines of Prada’s America’s Cup
None of the five has all of these, and balancing them is the design. The silhouette is a runner shape, closer to the Gel-Kayano 14 and the Chanel runner than to a flat court shoe.
Upper. Leather and suede panels with mesh in which zones: vamp, quarter, tongue, and chrome as metallic leather overlays / metal hardware / a sole detail. Four materials means more pieces, more suppliers and more points where quality can slip than a single-material shoe. The cost sheet in Chapter 8 has to reflect that.
Sole and construction. If it’s a runner, the bottom is a moulded EVA or phylon midsole with a rubber outsole, cold-cemented to the upper, chosen from an open-mold catalogue so there’s no tooling to pay for (mold #). The biggest catalogues of open-mold runner soles are held by sole makers in China, around Jinjiang in particular. Fewer Portuguese factories make runners. This choice feeds straight into Chapter 5.
Run. One colourway, the first colourway, in sizes US 7–12 with half sizes, cut unisex.
Decisions
| Decision | Current answer | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Reference shoes | Rick Owens × Vans, BV Orbit, Gel-Kayano 14, Prada America’s Cup, Chanel runner | Decided 2026-10-20 |
| Upper materials | Leather, suede, mesh, chrome | Decided 2026-10-20 |
| Where each material goes | Not described | Open |
| What “chrome” is | Not described | Open |
| Silhouette | Runner shape, architectural lines | Proposed |
| Sole | Open-mold runner unit: EVA midsole, rubber outsole | Proposed |
| Construction | Cold cement | Default |
| Fit and gender | Unisex | Open |
| Size run | US 7–12, half sizes | Default |
| Colourways in run one | One | Default |
| Design status | Designed; no sample yet | Decided 2026-10-20 |
Questions for you
- Can you share your sketches or renders? Put them in
my-plan/images/and they’ll go on this page. - Silhouette: is it a runner with a chunky, technical sole like the Kayano or Chanel, or something sleeker like the Prada Cup? Thick sole or slim?
- What does “chrome” mean on your shoe: metallic or mirror leather, metal hardware such as eyelets or a heel piece, or a chrome-look part of the sole?
- Which panels are which material? Go zone by zone: toe, vamp, quarter, heel, tongue, and any overlays.
- Men, women or unisex?
- What’s the first colourway?