Shoe Producers
I talked with shoe production companies to get a grounded sense of research
03 / 06
Exploration design / Material communication
Mesh Trace
A footwear concept that lets a sole communicate its own condition through visible patterns of wear.
- Role
- Independent designer
- Focus
- Wear and repair
- Methods
- Concepting, additive manufacturing
- Year
- 2026
The problem and approach
What if a climbing shoe showed when it needed repair?
Bouldering shoes often wear through at the toe, where climbers place repeated pressure on small holds. The damage can be difficult to judge until a hole appears. By then, a simple resole may no longer be possible, and a shoe that could have lasted longer may be discarded.
MeshTrace explores how the sole itself could communicate wear. We developed a layered, patterned toe surface that reveals a visual change as material wears away, giving climbers an earlier cue to plan a repair.
Through printed TPE structures and contrasting silicone, we tested how that cue could become part of the material rather than an added label. The final demonstrator was fitted to an existing climbing shoe using a resoling approach. It shows a possible way to make wear easier to read while working with the repair practices climbers already use.
Expert
Vision
Clean Climbing
Working with Clean Climber that are shaping a more sustainable future for climbing.
Material language
The construction explains what the product needs.
Direction
Designing for maintenance from the beginning.
The concept treats maintenance as part of the user experience rather than an afterthought. Clear material feedback can help someone decide when to repair, resole, or retire a product.
Powder-based and precision 3D-printing methods were explored to understand how pattern density, layered color, and local flexibility could be produced as a single integrated system.
