PLC x New Balance Masterclass - Team Training
This team project was done while completing the PLC x New Balance Masterclass of Summer 2023. As a Footwear Designer on Team Training, I was tasked with designing a shoe for an at-home training collection prioritizing individual and group wellness in 2030.
Meet Destiny.
Destiny is a 23 year old Howard University alumna from Atlanta, Georgia. Having returned home from college after graduation, she’s taking time to enjoy the still moments of life. It can be a lot of pressure to succeed in the job market and be a good role model to her sisters, but she has her ways of staying connected to her purpose. Her Sankofa ring keeps her grounded, as it reminds her to look to her past lessons to succeed in her future. She enjoys looking after her plants, visiting the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, and physical training at home to ease her mind.
She does various home workouts during the week, but on Wednesdays, she heads over to a friend’s house to do some cardio circuit training.
Design Ideation
In my first pass of ideations, I focused on creating a fast form with flowing lines and took inspiration from afrofuturism. I included thick soles for cushioning and experimented with straps and lacing that would provide ankle stability.
In my second pass, I moved forward with the ankle strap for support with a button to secure it, and a knit bootie for breathability. I had heavy sankofa imagery on the shoe at first, but had to simplify it to better match New Balance’s brand identity.
In my third pass, I adjusted the sankofa symbol on the sole of the shoe to fit in the flex groove, and used a different New Balance logo.
In the final design, I added elastic laces for more support and switched the logo to the classic “N”.
Final Shoe Design
Color Story - Intention
The final shoe design lives in this colorway done by Ruth, our team’s CMD designer. This particular one was inspired by Destiny’s calm, still, and intentional moments of her life that make her feel grounded and connected to herself. These peaceful feelings are emulated through the earth tones chosen for this palette.
Material & Functional Callouts
These two diagrams highlight some of our hero materials and functions of this shoe design. This shoe features a sustainable Bloom EVA midsole. The strap is layered with Ariaprene Terra and Clarino Soranina for a flexible, yet firm strap.
Some highlight functions of the shoe are the wrap-around strap for ankle stability, the knit bootie for breathability, and the pull straps to ease the foot into the shoe.
3D Render Ideation
I was tasked with learning how to 3d render my shoe design in Gravity Sketch, a VR modeling software. I first started with building the initial wireframes, modeled after one of my earlier shoe designs. It was then simplified before focusing on rendering my final shoe design.