BASF unveils ‘limitless’ virtual shoe
The chemical group teamed up with i-generator to present fresh safety concepts in a novel way.
Last summer, BASF announced it would be opening three footwear centres as part of a wider push into the sector, citing its desire to build on its 40 years’ experience and offer increased services to customers around the world. Development centres in the US and Thailand and an innovation centre in Taiwan would help add to developments such as Infinergy (the expanded thermoplastic polyurethane (E-TPU) material the company brought to market in 2013), high-rebound PU midsoles and thermoplastic polyurethane grades. These have been widely adopted and the German group is keen to add to its portfolio.
Its latest development, launched at the recent A+A fair in Düsseldorf, is a virtual safety shoe, featuring a closed, laceless design to minimise trips and offers better protection from spills. The upper is knitted from Freeflex fibre (spun from TPU), with a protective overlay made from Haptex, BASF’s solvent-free artificial substitute for leather. Freeflex bands add stability and enhanced abrasion resistance.The design also includes its first transparent toe cap, which it says offers new design possibilities and a lighter, more agile wearing experience. The midsole, made with Infinergy, is lightweight and offers resilience and durability.
World Footwear caught up with Patrick Bolze, leader of technical development for footwear, sports and leisure in Europe; and Felix Willenbrink, marketing manager for footwear, sports and leisure in Europe, to find out more.
WF: Why has the Limitless concept been launched in virtual mode, rather than with prototypes? What are the advantages of this and is it the first time BASF has taken this approach?
Yes, this is the first time BASF has launched a virtual safety shoe. As the footwear market is very dynamic and changing rapidly, we decided to develop a virtual concept. This approach is ideal to visualise new solution approaches and material innovations and to share it instantly with different stakeholder groups. It was our goal to showcase future-oriented technologies that are still in development and thus have not been launched to the market yet. As we supply material solutions to the footwear industry, we partnered with i-generator, a footwear design consulting firm based in Portland, US. We jointly developed this concept that well captures our ideas and sets a new benchmark in terms of comfort, design flexibility, lightness and durability.Can you explain a little more about the transparent toe cap – is this something you felt was missing from the market?
This is the industry’s first transparent toe cap made from Elastollan and an alternative to a metal toe cap which offers completely new design possibilities to the safety footwear industry. It also means a lighter, more agile wearing experience while at the same time fully protected and meeting safety standards. Safety footwear was typically bulky and heavy as it contained features (such as steel toe caps) that protected you from injuries, but the trend is more towards lightweight, stylish and sneaker-like safety shoes with protective features. Well in line with these trends, the transparent toe cap has been designed to give more flexibility to shoe designers and encourage them to bring innovative ideas. In addition, the transparent toe cap helps detect defects of this key safety element in an early stage – before any injury occurs.
What is it about the safety shoe market that makes it a good fit for BASF and where do you see the sector heading?
The safety shoe market is exciting for BASF, as we see many interesting developments: one example is an increased specialisation of safety shoes for various industries. The safety shoe market has always been in demand for performance materials that enable manufacturers not only to fulfill safety standards, but to continuously improve performance and protective features of their safety shoes. Nowadays, safety shoes are high-tech products which require light and durable materials with maximum comfort and elasticity.
This goes along with an increasing athleisure trend in this segment: people want to wear shoes that look good and are similar to sneakers. It is not just about performance, but also about looking great on the way to and from work. Safety shoes have been changing a lot lately and what all these trends have in common is that they require more advanced materials than before. This is where we come in with our passionate engineers and decades of footwear experience.
What sort of market conditions did BASF see or predict that made it want to concentrate investments in footwear, and to open new development centers?
We experience an increasing emphasis on unique designs, higher performance with durability and comfort as well as stronger demand for sustainable solutions. The industry has to embrace these new demands and we believe we have a role to play here. By creating good connections among our footwear development/innovation centres across regions, we can try out different ideas with brands, develop new materials together and provide stronger technical support for them. Our ability to connect designers and brand owners to material innovation and production, be it Europe, the US or Asia, will help the industry to cater to these new demands from the market.
It is obviously early days, but what reaction have you had from manufacturers and brands to Limitless?
We got great feedback on the shoe. The real conversation starter was the transparent toe cap, which surprised and inspired our customers. We are in talks with most major workwear manufacturers and are working on bringing their vision for the next generation of safety shoes to life with our materials.
All credits: BASF
