FINAL CONCEPT DEISGN

After being inspired by several different sources I finally put my work together to form my final concept design. The last thing left to do was to colour it in using different kinds of media to bring out the effects of the materials used in the best way possible. For the soft leather part I used a black Promarker. Since it's a marker which blends its ink really well lines weren't present on my drawing giving off the effect of soft leather quite well. I then used a black chalk pastel for the suede parts of the shoe. The parts which I wanted to stick out, I decided to go for a gold marker which would match the design used for the Snitch wing. The Snitch wing itself was coloured in with gold marker and other parts left white making it stick out from the rest of the shoe which was just different tones of black separated by a white outline to show the different parts combined and match the rest of the shoe. As a last minute detail inspired by the Christian Louboutin shoe I made the inside of the shoe red. It only shows when the shoe is off but like that it gives off a more appealing design when not being worn. 

Side View

Back View / under-heel

Fresh Start

Whilst looking back on my work I was still quite confused as to how I wanted to proceed with my concept. I took a look at my blog with one of my unit tutor's, Ms.Sharon Abela. She liked the idea however thought it might be a bit too cliche'.. a bit too mainstream. Looking at it over again, scrolling through my work I agreed. Even though it was a good idea, it wasn't anything new. the design and inspiration might have been original but the way I went around designing the shoe wasn't; So it was time to look back and reflect and see where I can improve my work. My initial idea for my concept design was to come up with an original sneaker which I would like myself. Thinking it over I thought it would be best to design a woman's shoe; a design which in my opinion will be able to open up more windows when it comes to the design. With a woman's shoe there is much more to portray and I think I can express my creativity better. Looking at my previous research, not only within this unit but also in that of my other tutor Ms.Vella, I took a great liking to the signature shoe of Christian Louboutin. A classy shoe, loved, wanted and appreciated by many fashionistas and fashion icons. They're simple, yet elegant and look better than many other rival designer shoes; matter of opinion of course. I initially got inspiration from the shoe on the poster of the film 'The Devil Wears Prada'. Simple, elegant, and it portrays the title in the shoe itself.

[Photo taken by Me]

IMDb, 1990-2012. The Devil Wears Prada. [online] Available at: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458352/> [Accessed 16 December 2012]

212 NYC

Manhattan Model

Yutaka Sone - Little Manhattan (2011) - 2.5 tons of marble carved into a precise model of Manhattan

This is a map of Manhattan transformed into a marble stone model. It is 3ft. tall,  and 9ft. long. Sone put this model on hold after 9/11 because he wanted Manhattan to get back on its feet, back to running as usual before he continued it. He started working on it again in 2006 making a wood and foam model, basing it on photos he took from a helicopter himself and from images on google earth. He also visited sites himself to get a feel of how it looked in real life and its topography. He then, in 2007, started carving it into the marble.

There is also an element of harmony when it comes to this model. The top of the model is a precise carving of manhattan, but the bottom of it, as the artist stated himself, isn't and he was free to design it as he wished. the bottom is smooth and looks somewhat like a skirt. It looks like it has flow. ''I wanted the bottom to be more poetic and elegant, like a white feminine dress.” (Yutaka Sone, 2011, Issue of  New York) It is mostly done to scale however things such as the empire state building are made a bit bigger so that they were able to carve in their detail and as a symbol of their importance.

The material chosen is also of importance. He first made the model in wood and foam but the finished model is done in white marbel. It's white colour gives it a sort of harmonious look and feel. It is smooth in texture, white light colour so it immediately grabs the viewer's attention and makes him more curious. It makes one move closer to observe it and look at the little details it entails.

Im also using this to help me with my concept design. I always find pictures of buildings interesting no matter on what they're put, be it a poster, a bag, a book cover and so on. So I thought.. why not a shoe? I really like the idea that this model is made in white  marble.  It gives it a harmonious look and makes it look simple and clean even though so complex and detailed. I always preferred a white pair of tennis shoes to anything coloured, because they look fresh and stick out more. It also gives u a cleaner look with a good finish. I was thinking about transferring a picture of a place such as Manhattan or New york onto a pair of shoes. It will be a unique design, elaborate yet sophisticated. I was thinking of a design that would look similar to my blog background picture itself.  I won't only be restricted to using a picture but maybe I could use a map itself as the design for the shoe. 


Yutaka Sone, 2011, White City: Manhattan in a Marble Dress. New York Media LLC [online] Available at: <http://nymag.com/arts/art/features/yutaka-sone-2011-10/>  [Accessed 16 December 2012]
Tumblr, 2012, Little Manhattan Yutaka Sone. [online] [Accessed 16 December 2012]