Out of step: Why sneakers and sportswear still lag on sustainability
Have you ever wondered what becomes of your old sports shoes? In this article for newswire publisher 360info, Dr Rebecca Van Amber and Dr Alexandra Sherlock examine some of the current sustainability challenges facing the sports and athleisure apparel market.
The Footwear Research Network: a bridge between the footwear industry and academia
Footwear Research Network founding editor, Dr. Alexandra Sherlock, spoke recently with World Footwear about the benefits of Academe-Industry collaboration to address current social, cultural and environmental challenges.
Sneaker Deconstruction as Project-Based Learning
How can sneakers be used to teach high school students about the environmental impacts of fashion and footwear production? This project with students from Melbourne’s St Columba’s College provided an opportunity to find out.
Book review: Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting-Edge Kicks
As the Bata Shoe Museum’s exhibition Future Now: Virtual Sneakers to Cutting Edge Kicks comes to an end, Alex Sherlock reviews Senior Curator Elizabeth Semmelhack’s important exhibition publication. Whether you’ve seen the exhibition or not, this book is an indispensable resource for anyone interested in transforming the footwear industry for the better.
8th Street Samba: here’s why the authentic collaboration behind the ‘perfect sneaker’ matters
As the fashion industry strives towards a more circular and sustainable future, Dr Alexandra Sherlock and Professor Andrew Groves explore the pros and cons of sneaker collaborations. Full article available at The Conversation UK.
The Art and Science of Repair: Towards a Responsible and Meaningful Relationship with Footwear
Sustainability in Fashion Masters Graduate Kirraly Antcliff discusses the importance of footwear repair and the responsibility of brands to care for their products beyond the point of sale.
Gen Z grew up in a world filled with ugly fashion – no wonder they love their Crocs
Footwear Research Network contributor Dr. Emily Brayshaw writes for The Conversation to explore why the infamous Croc continues to go from strength to strength.
Footwear Research Networking event: 2023#1
Alexandra Sherlock reports back on the first networking event held by the Footwear Research Network.
This is Not a Shoe
How can old shoes be used to effect a shift from a traditional ‘design-led’ to a circular ‘material-driven’ approach to design? Research conducted at RMIT University used shoes to explore the transferable knowledge and capabilities that can be developed through material reuse and upcycling in design education.
Steve Jobs’ $220,000 Birkenstocks
Following the recent auction of Steve Jobs’ Birkenstock Sandals, Alex Sherlock explores the value of celebrity shoes in life and death.
Dormant Shoes: Why do we keep shoes we no longer wear?
Professor Sophie Woodward discusses the shoes we keep but no longer wear as part of her ‘dormant things’ research at the University of Manchester.
A Casual Obsession: Inside the British Sock Fetish Council
Professor Andrew Groves provides an overview of his ethnographic research on football casuals and their use of socks to construct inclusive and hybrid masculinities.
Search the archive for more articles from the Footwear Research Network:
More From the Footwear Research Network…
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![A pair of tan leather Jacoform shoes owned by Footwear Research Network contributor Professor Andrew Groves photographed against a black background.]()
Contributors
Meet our internationally acclaimed network of contributors.
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![A photograph of a shoe gallery at Shoes of No Shoes (SONS), Kruisem, Belgium.]()
Museums & Archives
A list of publicly available museums and archives in alphabetical order by country.
If the shoe fits:
FootweaR, Identity & Transition
The Footwear Research Network is an outcome of the ESRC-funded research project If the Shoe Fits: Footwear Identity and Transition at the University of Sheffield (2010-2013). Learn more about the project and research outputs here.
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The Footwear Research Network is an outcome of the ESRC-funded research project If the Shoe Fits: Footwear Identity and Transition at the University of Sheffield (2010-2013).
Learn more here
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Watch the ‘If the Shoe Fits’ documentary to learn more about the research project and the relationship between wearers and their shoes. Filmed and produced by Sheffield Vision.
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Learn more about the ‘If the Shoe Fits’ research team and board of advisors.
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Following the success of the original ITSF project, further funding was secured in 2015 for a follow-on project, ‘If the Shoe Fits: Enabling Patient-Centred Podiatry’.
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A number of papers and publications were produced directly from the ‘If the Shoe Fits’ research and in association with the project. Access the full list here.