Tina Zukanovic

Tina Zukanovic is a fashion womenswear and accessories designer. Prior to joining RCA,she worked in parisian fashion houses Kenzo, Lanvin and Chloe as womenswear designer.

Her points of interests are digital fashion deeply entwined with additive manufacturing technologies, data based analysis, simulations and 3D modeling optimization, to develop innovative cutting edge anatomy-aware footwear.

She likes to explore the next-gen materials to achieve her projects and push boundaries. She also finds inspiration in architecture, parametric design, biomorphology and sci-fi esthetics.

In this project she collaborated with Julien Deffontaines, Paris based architect from Ecole Speciale d’Architecture (ESA) who worked on digital parametric fashion design with Le Musee Des Art Decoratif and the Architectural Association School of Architecture (AA School)

Ballet dance has always been related to grace and elegance.

Being a very demanding and consuming art performance, it is always associated with physical sacrifice and injury.

This statement is still relevant today, as ballet dance footwear didn't evolve all over the years.

Does such a discipline still need to be related to discomfort, and pain?

Ballet dancers need better, they deserve better footwear to rely on, to preserve themselves, to recover.

They need a shoe to protect and recover their feet outside of training.

Dancers are prone for foot injuries that happen in daily walking because of their specific physiology and different gait pattern.

Foot care is time consuming. Time is needed for soothing their feet for next day recovery. They spend time on preparing their shoes,they need proper customization possibilities, personalisation and accessorization.

EXPLODED VIEW

The - RDS - Recovery Dance Sneakers prevent foot injuries outside of training and allow active recovery. Dancers have specific physiology modifications due to intense professional activity. RDS has internally treated pads that are customized and impregnated with healing compounds. An anatomic 3D printed exoskeleton cage provides a restrictive foot movement control and arch foot support based on study of common places of injuries. RDS gives a new vision of technical footwear oriented toward specific and tailored necessities, recognizing individual anatomic specificities, where the shoes can evolve with changing needs.

Wearing RDS will enhance a healthy, balanced lifestyle and allow a faster recovery : reduce and prevent injuries, increase performance with optional impregnatable pads with Arnica, Tiger balm.

Additional accessorization is possible with specific molded cushioning on the outsole that offers greater comfort and impact absorption.

Design and fabrication are at the core of the project as well as modularity, customization and accessorization.

Specifications:

> A 3D printed supportive anatomic exoskeleton cage.

> RDS have a thin lightweight construction giving a touch down feeling.

> Smart materials: 3d printed porous material impregnated with active formulas. Those replaceable pads have an active recovery role.

> Analysis and calculations of pressure points for the outsole.

> The multi-density midsole gives a natural feel while walking on hard and flat surfaces.

> Support of the foot arch optimizes weight distribution, enhances posture and comfort.

OUTSOLE DELIMITATION

OUTSOLE VOLUMETRY

ARCH FOOT ANALYSIS

SHOE LAYERS

SECTION SHOE

Topology and foot structure exploration is used as part of the design iteration.

Rehabilitation of foot injuries usually involve foot pronation control with taping.

In the design process I used a three fingers posture to hold the foot in balance.

Fiberflex 30D : 3d printed rubber-like flexible material, used for structure reinforcement.

Lay-Fomm 40 : spongy, foamy and highly porous material which is soluble in water. When 3d printed it is stiff and rigid, when submerged in water, arnica solution will convert to spongy material.

VarioShore TPU : variable density of material is obtained during the 3d printing process with temperature variation. With a single mono material I can obtain a large range of hardness and density properties for different parts of the shoe. This material doesn't absorb water, its lightweight and soft to the touch.