Dezeen Magazine

Nendo designs cone-shaped stackable slippers

Prolific Japanese design studio Nendo has created slippers shaped like wizard's hats that can be stood up and stacked one on top of another.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

The unusually shaped shoes, which come in beige, grey, brown, pink or navy, lack traditional fastenings and instead feature a simple circular opening for the wearer's foot.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

The slippers have been designed to crease at the wearer's instep, allowing them to stay on the feet without the need for laces, or a heel covering.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

"It offers a distinctive comfort to your feet unlike any shoes or slippers," said Nendo, who have designed a dizzying array of products including bags for architects, lights based on the shape of ice lollies, and Winnie-the-Pooh glassware.

In an interview studio founder Oki Sato told Dezeen he had "no idea" how they managed such a high output, and compared himself to a spinning top in constant motion.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

Called Triangle Roomshoes, the slipper are available in either polyester or synthetic leather – materials selected by the studio for "comfort and steadiness" – and taper to a slightly rounded point at the toe. This means they can be be stood on one end like a wizard's hat when not being worn, and stacked on top of one another for storage.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

Viewed from the side the footwear forms a distinctive triangular shape, and has been specifically designed for wearing indoors according to Japanese custom, which requires outdoor shoes to be taken off and replaced by house slippers.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

It's not Nendo's first foray into the world of footwear, having designed shoes for Camper in 2014 that featured an unusual threading system using the laces to create patterns across the outer surface of the shoe.

Triangular slippers by Nendo

The studio also collaborated with luxury brand Tod's to design a boat shoe with a similar fastening to the string tie often used on envelopes.

Triangular slippers by Nendo
A concept sketch of Nendo's Triangle Roomshoes

Other unusual footwear covered by Dezeen includes Royal College of Art graduate Ammo Liao's 3D-knitted trainers, and shoes made from disused materials including tyres, burlap sacks and rope, by Ravensbourne university students.

Photography is by Akihiro Yoshida.