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Dominic Symons talks about his Phose shoe for Airwalk.
By Paul Makovsky
June 2002
Dominic Symons (born 1974) studied industrial design at the Art Center campuses
in La Tour-de-Peilz, Switzerland, and Pasadena, California. After graduating
in 1996, he moved to San Francisco and worked for Eight Inc., a multidisciplinary
design firm. In November 1999 he and his partner Melissa Sunjaya formed
Bluelounge in Pasadena. His designs for two plastic chairs will be launched
at Orgatec in October.
Dominic Symons was already designing snowboard boots for Airwalk when the
company realized there was a market for people who have outgrown skate shoes.
They asked Symons and another designer to come up with concepts for a new
shoe. Symons's ideas prevailed, and he was asked to be the exclusive designer
for the Etura line of casual footwear. We asked the California-based designer
to talk about his Phose shoe, part of Etura's fall line, which will debut
in stores worldwide on July 1.
A brand manager at Airwalk, the parent company, created the name. He's brilliant
at coming up with these names. The company initially gives me a short description
of the shoes (like mid-high, low-cut, or sandal) along with working names.
Sometimes those working titles end up being the final ones.
The spiral pattern on the sole is based on the Fibonacci number series (0,
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21...), which is found in nature and has deep mathematical
properties. We were using this pattern for a logo project and the shape
worked out well, so we incorporated it into the sole of the shoe.
Because it's very organic, I sketched the Phose shoe by hand. Once the designs
are approved, I do renderings (side, top, and bottom views) in Photoshop
and then do all the line art in Illustrator.
I like working on the "foot bed" (the removable piece that goes
inside every shoe). We tried to make the shoe one of the most comfortable
on the market, because we believe that's what brings the customer back.
We used a 2-mm piece of slow-memory foam called Poron, found in Swedish
pillows and mattresses. It's supposed to be good for your back. When you
put the shoe on, the foam gathers around the shape of your foot and surrounds
it. They're very comfortable. I can even take the foot beds out and put
them in other shoes.
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Photos: Courtesy Dominic Symons
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Most running shoes have so many meaningless lines and only become recognizable
with a huge logo on them. This shoe has a little tag that simply says "Etura."
I was trying to design a shoe that you could wear at the office and
at a beach party. That versatility is something we're trying to get into
the whole line.
Originally the company was targeting the hiking market, but I felt there
were already plenty of good hiking boots out there. I tried to steer it
toward the fashion aspect while keeping a sporty look.
The leather shoes are made in a variety of textures, such as nubuck and
full-grain. This shoe is in frozen cream. It is also available in three
other colors.
One of the things I am trying to do with this shoe--and the entire line--is
come up with intricate, aggressive soles but keep the shoe very simple.
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