Job Description of a Shoe Designer
A career in shoe design is like no other job. Few other jobs involve taping paper to a wooden foot. It also involves creativity, technical skill and, generally, a measure of business sense. Shoe designers make anywhere from $25,000 to $150,000 a year, depending on responsibilities and company size. To become a shoe designer, you usually need an education in footwear design and some completed internships with shoe companies. Being a shoe designer can be incredibly rewarding.
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History of Shoemaking
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According to shoeinfonet.com, evidence exists showing that shoes were among the first objects created by early humans. Primitive people needed to protect their feet from hot sand and sharp rocks. Shoemaking was a specialized trade by medieval times, when it was governed by guilds. In 1845, the first machine to become a permanent staple within the shoe industry, a rolling machine to compact the fibers of leather, was put into use. In 1858, a machine was invented for sewing the soles of shoes to the uppers.
A Shoe Designer's Role
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Shoe designers create shoes that appeal to their company's target demographic. It's a shoe designer's job to conceptualize and design shoes that appeal to his company's target demographic. He develops sketches and technical drawings of his designs, and at smaller companies the designer might also create prototypes of the shoes he designs, using his knowledge of patterns and footwear construction. Head designers at large companies might lead large design teams and travel or conduct market research to gain insight into current trends.
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Becoming a Shoe Designer
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Aspiring shoe designers should get a degree in a field like footwear design or cordwaining. London College of Fashion offers a foundation course in Cordwainers Footwear Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Cordwainers Footwear in addition to an Master of Arts in Fashion Footwear. For those on the other side of the Atlantic, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising has a Footwear Design associate degree program. Most large shoe companies also offer internships and apprenticeships for novice designers.
How the Shoe Design Process Works
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Most shoe designers begin by drawing a rough, creative sketch of what they'd like their shoe to look like. Next, detailed line drawings are made, which include measurements and shows the shoe from different angles. The designer then approximates the shoe's design by taping paper to a last (model of a foot used to create shoes). After this, the designer creates a prototype of the pair of shoes by hand using lasts and a leather sewing machine. Once the final design is approved, the shoes can be manufactured.
Famous Shoe Designers
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Stuart Weitzman: Weitzman's shoe line is known for its creative use of materials like cork and lucite. Since 2002 Weitzman has produced a pair of couture shoes for one Oscar nominee each year.
Manolo Blahnik: Blahnik has been designing shoes since 1972. His designs have gained ubiquity due in part to their repeated mention on the popular show Sex and the City.
Christian Louboutin: Louboutin's shoes are famous for their red soles. This trademarked feature came about in 1992 when the designer felt his shoes "lacked energy" and painted the soles with red nail polish.
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References
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- Photo Credit shoe image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com shoe image by Valentin Mosichev from Fotolia.com
