ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Based in London, Bonnie Carr is a Designer preparing for post-grad studies in [technical] Menswear. Working across Spatial Design, Curation, Tech and Fashion, Bonnie draws from a wide spectrum of subcultures to bring deep reference to her Design ideas. We are stoked she’s contributing to Sabukaru as an output for her research, while she throws her knowledge into creating her first ‘Adaptable Garment System’. The column’s called Not For Archiving™

Follow @bonniecarr - her IG is great. Ok here’s the next piece:

VIBING WITH VIBRAM: Functionality, Form and Fashion

I first met with Vibram a while back now, whilst working with a high-end brand who wanted to produce shoes for their forthcoming collection. The process was fascinating and the results caused quite a stir so we decided to keep in touch through sharing ideas, endless chats on the footwear industry and the changing face of customisation. I thought it would be nice to touch on the procedures of shoe editing, resoling and unique builds; so here's a chat with the lovely Frank and Lee, the front line experts in London.

Have you seen a big shift in what Vibram clients want over the last few years?

A big shift hmm.. well a lot of our customers don’t or didn’t realise what we can do. So it is still quite an educational lesson for a lot of our customers.

So they come into the store with one thing in mind and actually you’re educating them on what the possibilities are?

Yes, exactly they don’t realise initially what we are capable of doing as a Vibram service. They come to us with an issue or idea and leave with something completely different.

Ok yeah. I think that’s what I’m getting at- as there is this tangible rise in customisation, we have talked a lot between us previously about Nike builds with Vibram soles etc. Are people coming in knowing they can customise any part of their build?

Well with the growth of sharing customisation images on Instagram, people are contacting Vibram with bigger ideas, especially one-off shoe builds for fashion shoots but still unsure of what’s realistic or doable. So our job is to educate. Many equivalent services won’t take these more outlandish projects on as they are anxious of the outcome of the build.

I’ve learnt from working with you guys myself - that you wouldn’t take anything on that you could not promise perfection on. We built a loafer last year together with a Vibram hiking sole didn’t we..and I would not have trusted anyone else but Vibram to do this so immaculately. So much goes into a successful resole, yet the end result should look effortless I suppose.

You just mentioned designers coming to you for one-off footwear for shoots and we have worked on projects together for the Paris catwalk etc. Is Fashion a big part of Vibrams remit these days? It seems to have moved from form and function; climbing, bad weather, grips, uniforms.. into the arena of fashion and style..

Yes, Vibram started as a safety feature for your boots many moons ago but now with the introduction of ‘Sole Factor’ (a unique concept offered by Vibram where you can access all their unique design innovations and customise your footwear with Vibram's highly skilled technicians), it’s 50-50 between functionality and fashion.

Amazing no? I mean 10 years ago, you wouldn’t have had someone like me come to you and say I want to make these silly shoes, can you help? : )

Exactly, 10 years ago would have been walking boots, walking boots and more walking boots. Now its Doc Martins with orange soles.

Can you talk me through a shoe build so anyone reading can understand a bit more? So let’s say someone comes in with a pair of 2003 Nikes wanting a new Vibram hiking sole attached, what’s the process?

With moulded soles its a trickier situation. Where the old sole is removed, we need the new Vibram sole to cover exactly the same or more of the shoe, to make sure the glue line isn’t visible and that cosmetically the build will look good. We can strip the Nike away and prepare it and then see which sole options will fit depending on tray depth, suppleness etc. Once the upper is stripped we can try any Vibram Cut Sole and provide a recommendation for the best choice.

For our readers - what’s a Cut Sole?

A Cut Sole has a lip around the sole, where it lifts up around the sides like a tray. A Flat Sole is just that, no edging, but the Cut has an edge. Even then, we have many types of Cut Soles too so its multiple layers of customisation.

Yeah, the more athletic sole choices tend to have a lower cut/edge.. how about Vibram ‘lasts'? (a last being a block that shoemakers use in the moulding process, an anatomical copy of the foot).

Usually, we’ll find the nearest fitting last ie. a size 44 Nike takes a 44 last, not always that straight forward as we don’t want to stretch or push the upper out of shape.

Do you warn clients that they may not get the sole choice they want?

Yeah, we do. It’s not as straightforward as people think, but we try to build the shoe requested using many different Vibram / Shoemaker techniques before we would say it’s not possible. For example, we cannot have the glue line showing and wouldn’t put our name to footwear that was cosmetically flawed, so that’s a common issue we try to solve with our expertise.

Are there soles that are more popular than others? The Rolling Gait seems to be Vibrams bread and butter.

Actually our bread and butter are Redwing resoles. So the Vibram equivalent of Redwing’s boot sole is the ‘Christie’ - a wedged Flat Sole (25mm at the heel dropping to 15mm at the toe) that is definitely our most popular product. Redwing boots are purely industrial in America but here in the UK its a fashion boot. Not necessarily a young person’s style, but we have customers with 7/8 different versions of Redwings, all resoled with Vibram.

Interesting as from my side of things, coming at it from a collaborative perspective - Rolling Gaits are the Vibram sole that you see the most at street level, and tend to be the choice of Sports and Fashion Designers over the last five years. We do of course have brands such as 1017 Alyx / MMW creating more innovative pieces with swappable Vibram cages and custom press-on soles, but this is still only a small part of the explored fashion territory for Vibram.

There’s a brand called ROA which Vibram make and provide soles for, for their entire range. There is a specific Vibram sole that seems to have shifted 1000s of pairs of ROA boots and shoes, called the Vibrid. I have worked with this (now discontinued) sole with you guys. It’s hard to explain how something like a Vibram sole could become so coveted by not only those using ROAs for their intended purpose, Hiking - but those of us who are 80% function/quality and 20% fashion haha :) it’s such a strange phenomenon to me. How something so specific moves from mountain to catwalk. I literally lose my shit when you find me discontinued Vibrids to use. But hey that’s me, I’m weird.

So how long is the lifetime of a Vibram sole? Are you updating the silhouettes that you use every season, annually or just keep going in and out of the Vibram archive?

Well, the last big range change was 2016. Importantly the compounds remain the same. The only new compound Vibram has created and released is the Arctic Grip. Everything else, they may just tweak the look, change the tread pattern or colours.

Arctic Grips are amazing! I don’t think I have ever tried a new invention like that, that does exactly what it says it’s going to do.

Ah yes! We had a huge ice block bought in to show clients the potential of the artic performance soles. Vibram Italy came to give a display on just how good they are. Did you know Vibram US also make an equivalent for Fire conditions? Not just Ice.

Culturally, customisation shows no signs of slowing down so what do you think the future is for editing shoes and trainers in this way? I feel like technology and materials have finally caught up with peoples need to show individuality.

Well now with technical paints, lace choices, changing of soles in colour and tread - it’s endless. 20 years ago shoe paint would have been for one-time wear on a special occasion and after would have cracked and peeled. Now the paint bonds so well to the leather it’s amazing.

..So you can take the rarest pair of Jordans and paint them a mad colour.

Yeah exactly, it is about uniqueness and that no one else will ever have that same pair of shoes.

What do you think it is about Vibram that people love so much? Do clients tell you why they keep coming back? For example, heavy-weights Prada have been using Vibram for a long, long time.

Well its the best. Its the best possible quality and expertise you can buy for your footwear. Most people probably have Vibram soles on a pair of shoes in the cupboard, but don’t even realise. You can’t buy a better product for your footwear.