M U T A - in progress
// empowering adventurers through modular footwear
MUTA
To be mutable is to be capable of change or of being changed in form, quality, or nature
My sports product design master’s thesis project at the University of Oregon unlocks the ultimate freedom and preparedness for independent adventure photographers from their flight to the field. Using swappable uppers and soles, each adventurer is able to pack multiple footwear types in half the packed volume and weight, allowing them to pack more of what matters without sacrificing comfort and safety in the field and during travel.
Material Partners/Sponsors
W. L. Gore & Associates worked closely with me on this project, providing Gore fabrics and seam tapes in addition to consulting me on the waterproof bootie process. Their help was essential to the success of this project and it was extremely exciting to be working on the forefront of waterproof bootie design and material technology.
Atextile provided official Cordura footwear fabrics and tags for my prototyping and testing process. Their fabrics are of world class quality and allowed me to create an extremely durable, stretchy, and professional looking TPU fabric composite material for my rubber boot Snakeskin upper.
Teijin made available a variety of their advanced fabrics, and their Tetras fabric and cooling fabrics were used exclusively in the TPU laminated cage materials of the outdoor and urban soles.
Duraflex supplied me with specialized quick-release 3mm cord locks for my primary lacing system, as well as the cord locks and aluminum pull hardware used on my boot upper sinching system.
CURRENT PROJECT SLIDE DECK
