Winner of the contest

Reptile, my project, was born at night. I define it as a hybrid shoe. In seeking to create something new and different, I wanted to mix a sneaker with a boot and a sandal: this is the result. The use of reptile skin and feathers evokes a wild and animalesque dimension. The modern materials, like the polyurethane sole, the cubism of the high-frequency tank, and the microlite of the toe are linked to the urbanization of this planet and urban man. This is certainly today’s way of setting trends and modern designers like Ann Demeulemeester, Marcelo Burlon, Rick Owens, etc. were sources of inspiration and influencers in my project.

The idea to create the Blood Diamond sneaker came to me through the diamond wars in Africa and Sierra Leone. The detrimental meeting between man and nature causes the earth to be constantly violated and deprived of the precious fruits necessary to finance insurrections and fuel the power of the war lords, pitting whites and blacks against each other rather than facilitating the development of this continent devastated by wars and disease that obstruct progress. I sought to interpret this theme on the upper of the sneaker where the orange base is intended to exalt the magnificent colours of Africa, from the spectacular sunsets to the brush typical of the arid savannah. On the exterior there had to be a stylized African continent, red and crossed with the heartbeat to represent Africa as the heart of the planet. On the heel instead is an insert that depicts the blood diamond, the fruit of mother earth coveted by man who has no scruples and will do anything to obtain it. The upper is in the colours of white and black to represent the bond of brotherhood, for better or for worse, that unites men of different colours, all children of the same earth.

This sneaker was inspired by a combination of urban art and eco-sustainability. It features two arrows that recall the graffiti done with modern paints that can attract smog, thereby purifying the air, and a quarter lining in the green of nature, the same that man should safeguard and conserve. The rear part in phosphorescent orange evokes human artificiality, while the heel and the toe are grey like the asphalt roadways that cover much of our planet. The objective of my creation was to bring man closer to ‘use and reuse’, awareness of existing materials and products to reawaken in him a connection with nature that has been lost.

The theme I chose to represent in my project is the conflict between the evil of mankind in contrast with the force of nature: “metropolis vs. nature”. I sought to represent these two themes in the two parts of the sneaker, dedicating a theme to each side. In the external part I depict the “modernity” of our times, representing a series of intersecting skyscrapers, evoking a man-made forest. In the internal part instead I thought to recreate nature in its most spontaneous and natural form, simulating a large tree with leafy branches. The grenade on the toe indicates the power of modern man to decide to destroy what nature created in whatever way he pleases. Man is becoming the enemy of nature, when he would have the potential to preserve and enhance it.