Footwear
The strength: Politecnico Calzaturiero
The School of Footwear Design and Technology, founded in 1923 in the heart of the Riviera del Brenta, has made a significant impact on the growth and development of the Italian district, where the most beautiful and innovative shoes in the world are created.
More than 90% of the individuals working in the footwear district have attended the School and every year hundreds of students from all over Italy come here to learn the professions of Footwear Designer, Modeler, and Technician and Expert Luxury Footwear Craftsman. In fact, the educational program makes it possible to learn by doing, working directly with the footwear - and more recently accessory handbags - production process “on site”, starting with the stylist’s concept, passing through the creation of the model, and concluding with the finished product.
The instructors are businessmen, stylists, modelers, technicians, and consultants from footwear companies and from the world of fashion, thereby guaranteeing continual updating of skills and educational programs. Constant contact with numerous companies in the sector enable young people to have a first-hand and cutting-edge experience with new technologies and the use of original raw materials.
The design competition on the applications of polyurethane, promoted by the Polytechnic Institute thanks to an agreement with BASF Italia, aims primarily to stimulate the creativity of aspiring designers and favour the development of products characterised by both style and, above all, by the innovative use of materials and processes.Polyurethane, although now a traditional material in the footwear sector, also lends itself to this type of experience because it can be used creatively even in haute couture and luxury sectors.
The curriculum and experimentation that the students of the Politecnico Calzaturiero undertake in this competition is fundamental for creating new skills and generating innovation and development, which today are the principle requisites for boosting the competitiveness of the Italian footwear industry on an international level.
Politecnico Calzaturiero President - Franco Ballin
The eleventh edition of the competition entailed the following operational phases:
- the presentation to the students of the sole project to be applied to a sneakers model (the sole was designed by Linda Lipari, instructor at the Politecnico Calzaturiero and produced in collaboration with BASF Italia);
- lessons held in classrooms by BASF technicians on the characteristics of the components and materials made in polyurethane;
- educational workshops on planning and design with Politecnico Calzaturiero design instructors to define the various thematic interpretations and elaborate the graphic elements;
- review of the projects of the individual students by the instructors/ project coordinators;
- planning and execution of footwear prototypes, sneaker models, that include the use of the proposed sole;
- nomination of a commission of stylists, modelers, technicians and managers of BASF Italia to select the best sneaker models.
In this edition, 67 students attending the 2nd year of the advanced classic modelling course and the Intensive Modelling Course of the School of Footwear Design and Technology participated.