Designers find their inspirations from all sorts of places. For Rem D Koolhaas, the co-founder of shoe brand United Nude, it came from heartbreak.
In 2009, while still studying architecture, Koolhaas, the nephew of acclaimed architect Rem Koolhaas, developed the Mobius shoe to impress his girlfriend. The radical design, where a single band forms the sole, heel, foot-bed and the upper part of the shoe, became the toast of the design world. Some called it the first high heel to cross the border between industrial design and fashion.
Koolhaas never won back his girl. But after founding United Nude with Galahad Clark, the seventh generation English shoemaker whose family owns the Clark’s brand, in 2003, their designs have had women around the world swooning. Marrying architecture, technology and fashion, United Nude shoes are now sold in 40 countries, including the UAE, with flagship stores in Amsterdam, London and New York.
Koolhaas is in Dubai this week to show off his brand’s latest 3D printing designs at Level Shoe District at The Dubai Mall and give a talk on how the technology is revolutionising the world of design.
tabloid! caught up with him before his trip to talk design, technology, fashion and whether or not he’s mended his broken heart.
Hello Rem, welcome to Dubai, is this your first time here?
Yes and finally. Dubai was very high on my list of places I wanted to go so I’m really excited.
What are you most looking forward to doing, besides your event at Level Shoe District?
Seeing all the great architecture.
Do people confuse you with your uncle a lot? Any funny incidents you can share?
Having the same name as somebody famous causes confusion. The most funny is of course when people congratulate him on the amazing shoes he makes.
You’ve been creating such innovative footwear for many years. Would you say 3D printing was a natural progression?
We were using 3D printing for our prototyping from day one (2001). The natural progression was to put the printers in a retail environment and print walkable 3D printed shoes and this is all happening as the printers are getting better and smaller.
How does 3D printing lend itself to United Nude’s vision?
It’s one of the perfect design tools as an extension of computer aided design. It allows us to test new shapes very rapidly. The biggest advantage is the speed.
Please explain how 3D printing pushes you creatively?
When we are talking about 3D printing there are several types of 3D printing. The one we are presenting in our retail environments, such as Level Shoe District in Dubai, is the desktop home type. The much larger industrial machines are printing with multiple lasers from powder. With this more advanced technology the possibilities reach further, like it allows you to create incredibly complex shapes that are only possible with 3D printing. This is a new freedom in creation that allows you to extend your creativity.
Can you break down the process of printing a shoe?
With the technology at our installation, the printers melt a string of plastic into a much thinner string, which is then used similar to how a normal printer prints with ink. The print surface slowly moves down away from the printing module so thin layers of printed plastic string start forming a shape upwards.
Some proponents of 3D printing would say the technology is not yet fine-tuned to reach its full potential. Do you agree?
For sure, but at the same time I think the technology is far enough developed for each designer to use it as one of the tools in their toolbox. The fact that this might just be the beginning and that it will develop much further only makes it so much more exciting.
What are the limitations of 3D printing from your perspective as a shoe designer?
It’s not yet suitable for mass production.
What does the future look like for 3D printing in general? In the near future, will I be able to print a shoe before an evening out?
In general I think we will be printing buildings and probably in space too, even from local materials like with Markus Kayser’s solar powered sand printer. With a 3D System Cube desktop printer you can already print your shoes at home for a night out.
What are you going to show us at Level Shoe District’s panel talk?
We will be talking about general 3D printing and 3D printed shoes.
We have to ask: What are your thoughts on the architecture in Dubai?
I don’t know yet. I’m very curious. It would be premature for me to already have an opinion before seeing it.
How about a pair of shoes inspired by Dubai?
I hope so!
Which segments do better for United Nude: men’s or women’s collection? Why do you think that’s the case?
Women’s, of course. From a design perspective heels are much more exciting that flat shoes. We also started making men’s shoes much later than our women’s shoes, so for our men’s shoes it’s still early days. Having said that, our men’s shoes are also a big success and rapidly growing in numbers.
Would you say you are a good businessman?
I’m not bad as we grow the business while turning a profit. But the business success goes hand in hand with the pride we have. This pride aspect sometimes conflicts with the business side, but without pride there is nothing, so it’s crucial to find the right balance. This balance is very personal.
Do you think you’ve designed enough shoes to mend a broken heart?
Yes, my broken heart was mended a long time ago!
What’s next for United Nude? What are your future plans?
Our UN art car is almost finished, we are launching watches, jewellery, sunglasses, more bags etc. By next year. United Nude will slowly become that lifestyle brand we always aimed it to be.
— Entry to the Rem D Koolhaas’ talk on October 30 is by invite-only. But the United Nude pop-up including the 3D printing display, will be on at Level Shoe District at The Dubai Mall until November 8.
