In Our Shoes This is our Jubilee Year. The Education and Youth sub-com of SG50 has been supporting a whole slew of youth led projects to celebrate our Jubilee year. One of these is “In Our Shoes”, a shoe design competition by Bronx Creative Design Centre (BDC) where they invited tertiary students to translate their stories and experiences into their own uniquely designed pair of shoes. Read more about it here : channelnewsasia/news/singapore/youths-play-important/1564766.html . I got into the spirit of it as well and decided to contribute my own shoe design ideas – not as part of the competition, but just for the sheer fun of it and as starter ideas for anyone else who would like to come up with their own Singapore shoe. I had been having these Singapore shoe concepts revolving around in my head for some time, and for this project, I was privileged to collaborate with a very talented young designer, Shelin Chee Yiwen, to come up with these fun SG50 shoes. I sketched out the concept ideas and she helped me translate them into the actual design. Bronx then produced the final end product which you see in these pics. Hope you like them, and I would encourage everyone else out there who has ever had a yen to design shoes to give it a go for our Jubilee Year! The ideas around which the shoes were designed are explained below. Enjoy! 1) Red Clog Shoe This was inspired by the humble cha kiak. The red clogs were customary footwear used by many Singaporeans in the past, especially cleaners and those doing housework. The original ones were made of non-slip wood painted red. The elevated wooden base kept the wearers feet dry and clean when used in areas like wet markets, kitchens and toilets. This shoe design reinterprets the cha kiak while retaining the familiar rainbow band. 2) Kueh Lapis Sandal The Kueh Lapis, as we all know, is the traditional layered cake, much loved by Singaporeans, with distinct brown stripes created from a painstaking baking process. This sandal emulates the layers of the Kueh Lapis cake. Wear one for Chinese New year! 3) Benjamin Sheares Bridge Shoe This shoe was inspired by the Benjamin Sheares Bridge Y-shaped concrete structural supports. The minimalist form represents our strength and solidarity, as well as the structures that uphold our country and the strong foundations on which the ideas and dreams of our people are built. The speed limit button is a playful nod to the traffic rules on that stretch of bridge and serves as a reminder about safe and responsible driving. 4) Changi Airport Control Tower Stiletto One of the most iconic structures in Singapore, the Changi Airport Control Tower is instantly recognizable to all Singaporeans. The 3-D printed control tower heel reflects its integral role in making Singapore a leading aviation hub. 5) Pinnacle @ Duxton Platform Shoe The Pinnacle @ Duxton is an iconic HDB development ( and part of Tanjong Pagar GRC which I help take care of). This shoe was created to celebrate Singapore’s public housing, which has made the journey from kampong houses to world-class designs and liveability in public housing. 6) LTA Slip On This one is akan datang. There’s no picture yet because it was conceptualized a little later and is in the process of production. This shoe is intended to pay tribute to LTA’s role is bringing about our excellent transport infrastructure and road network. It’s an orange sandal with a yellow and grey striped front strap, to evoke a road cone and a pedestrian crossing. It will be out soon. You can catch these shoes and the ones in the design competition from 8 – 25 January 2015 at the Singapore Design Centre. See you there!
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 06:45:27 +0000