Gabrielle Whittle
A Brand New Shoe
My passion for design and fashion has lead me to create the product of my, and possibly many other women's dreams. This product, which I've termed a "transformable high heel", is a shoe that has an adjustable shoe and detachable heel, so it can be worn as a flat to high heeled shoe.
Design challenges
Adjustable Sole
In order to have a shoe that can be a flat or a high heel, the sole of the high heel must be able to adjust in some way. A flat shoe has a flexible sole that bends as the foot is lifting off the ground. A high heel sole has a metal support that keeps the shoe in a particular shape as you walk. It is rigid and not meant to bend at all. How does one create a sole that is flexible and ridge at the same time? This is the main challenge I've had to solve was able too start the patent filing process for the design I created.
The Removable heel
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The challenge for the removable high heel isn't so much the actual mechanism as it is the industrial design. In my customer research, I found the main thing holding women back from buying a product like a transformable high heel is that the ones that are already available, do not look good to them. They look "mechanical", which is not what women want. So in my design for the removable heel I made sure the attachment was seamless. My goal is to make my shoes look no different than a regular high heel. I had to use techniques from my past work in product design and learned a few knew techniques along the way.
