French designer Paul Coudamy of art collective Elegangz has created these wooden shoes for footwear brand K-Swiss.
Coudamy describes the project as a “temporal contraction in which the Swiss country shoe of 19th century is crossed with the urban shoe of the 20th century.”
The shoes are hand-carved and produced in a limited edition of 25.
Photographs © Benjamin Boccas
Here’s some more information from Coudamy:
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Woodwalk
design by Paul Coudamy,
25-pair limited edition of wooden sneakers by Paul Coudamy for K-SWISS, hand-sculpted and numbered.
The starting point of reflexion and creation for a K-Swiss design was to ask the sneackers’s original essence to propose an unique prototype.
The concept of Woodwalk is founded on a principle of distortion, a temporal contraction in which the Swiss country shoe of 19th century is crossed with the urban shoe of the 20th century and a space contraction.
We can find this process in the conception. In fact, Woodwalk’s design is created by computer and permit a matchless precision of the drawing. Woodwalk is a craft production, means that every model are hand-sculpted in wood. Woodwalk is a critical design.
With the reinterpretation of the usual sneaker which is a city dweller’s symbol, Woodwalk changes the codes of the traditional sneaker. This meeting deals with the confrontation between the sens of sneaker and the natural matter of wood. A part of Woodwalk’s concept is to ask the meaning of walking in the city and to invite people reconsidering the urban lifestyles.
More Dezeen stories about Paul Coudamy:
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December 16th, 2008 at 4:23 pm
wtf hahaha
December 16th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
Excellent workmanship !!,
Er… are they fire resistant?
December 16th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
I see that Fine Art is still the source of direct inspiration for many designers.
A feeling that design still subordinated can only break its own mould when taking from works of art. this shouldn’t be the case.
The artist I am referring to here is Ricky Swallow.
http://bp2.blogger.com/_nwrdZOqVEEs/R_utr4C6aVI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/SGl_n9_8G1g/s1600-h/swallow-together+is+the+new+alone-2001.jpg
December 16th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
cool pieces of art.
this ain’t design.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Is this a joke? What did he design?
“A part of Woodwalk’s concept is to ask the meaning of walking in the city and to invite people reconsidering the urban lifestyles.” Which really sums it up, when I saw these wooden shoes, I thought man, those shoes are made out of wood. I am going to reconsider my urban lifestyle.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
that’s cool ! it seems that this guy his also architect and artist…curious creativ world.
http://www.paulcoudamy.com/
December 16th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
the one thing I love about it and the only thing that seems ”designed” about this is the wood chips packadging… as for the 2oth century thing, it’s so a decade ago
December 17th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Very cool concept!
December 18th, 2008 at 4:16 am
Temporal contraction- is there another kind?- my arse. Ja, sandalwood, nicht wahr? In idle moments I think about carving Birkenstock bases, or indeed orthotics in this fragrant wood, which could be a good idea. These objects will never see the outside of a foot or a pavement. Hi kitsch they deserve a companion carving of Durer’s praying hands.
December 19th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Wooden shoes. Very old concept, just a beter design.