Recare About Shoes

Recare About Shoes is a living lab in which circular design strategies were developed to extend the lifespan of shoes before, during and after use. This resulted in a modular shoe, Recare Café workshops and a new footwear care brand.

The jury on Recare About Shoes:

Recare About Shoes impresses with its strong systemic approach, in which the social issue is tackled at different levels and the right partners and stakeholders are involved. The combination of interventions, from workshops and maintenance products to events, shows how broadly the design has been conceived.

The combination of social and commercial interest is also strong: the good cause is linked to an entrepreneurial approach that ensures ownership and continuity. The system behind the shoe also offers opportunities to apply this approach to other products.

How did the idea for this project come about?

The Recare About Shoes concept emerged from a rebranding of Mister Minit by Omvorm, which focused on care and maintenance. LUCA School of Arts then took the initiative to build a complementary network of partners from the footwear industry around this concept.

How does it contribute to a better world?

Over a two-year period, the VLAIO Living Lab ReCare About Shoes investigated how the footwear industry’s linear ‘take-make-waste’ model could be transformed into a circular system focused on maintenance, repair and reuse. The initiative was launched by Omvorm in collaboration with Torfs, Cycleur Deluxe, Ambiorix, Mister Minit, KU Leuven, Flanders District of Creativity and LUCA School of Arts, with support from VLAIO.

Do you have any further plans for this project?

Torfs and Omvorm are now gearing up to further develop and market the circular footwear care brand created within the Recare Living Lab.