New York and Portland-based Studio Proba has collaborated with footwear brand Hoka on a colourful adult and kids footwear series with shoes designed to be “a wearable piece of art”.
Studio Proba overhauled three existing Hoka shoes for the project, including the brand’s Speedgoat 6 and Kawana Mid sneakers and the Ora Primo slip-ons, covering the shoes in colourful organic shapes and layered textures, such as 3D-printed toe caps.
According to the designer, the palette and designs were informed by the relationship between people and nature.
“Translating my designs into the Hokas was such a fun challenge,” studio founder Alex Proba told Dezeen. “Unlike a mural or a sculpture, where the work is meant to be seen from a distance or walked around, shoes are intimate.”
“I thought a lot about joy and movement, and how the patterns could mirror the freedom of being out in nature or running through a city. In the end, it was about turning each pair into a wearable piece of art that could spark happiness from the ground up.”
For the Speedgoat 6, a low-rise trail running shoe, Proba covered the exterior with a warm-toned pattern for an adult version and a cool-toned version for a kid’s pair.
Both shoes are made with a thick outsole in white or a speckled blue and covered with a 3D-printed toe cap with small cutaways.
The slip-on shoe also features a brightly patterned exterior, which varies across the fabric. The purple outsole was made with 30 per cent recycled rubber and is marked with small red and blue flecks, while a thin line of hairy suede runs along the perimeter.
In contrast, the Kawana Mid trainer is largely white save for marbled laces, but features a variety of subtly patterned textiles, including a transparent mesh running around the shoe.
“Nature will add another dimension of art to these shoes – mud from the trail, dust from a hike, even city puddles – each one layering its own story onto the design,” said Proba.
“I didn’t see scuffs or dirt as a problem – instead, I welcomed them.”
Based in New York, Studio Proba was founded by Alex Proba, who works across a variety of scales and objects, including homeware and murals.
Previously, the designer hand-painted swimming pools with geometric murals and showcased a chandelier and other work at the design exhibition Verso Works in Brooklyn, New York.
The photography is courtesy of Hoka by Kaitlin Green
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