Roderick Pieters uses glueless construction for Loper shoes

This video shows the easy to assemble shoes that are held together by rope rather than adhesive by Japanese footwear designer Roderick Pieters. The Loper shoes, which launched on Kickstarter at the end of last month, were designed by Pieters and Proef to address problems caused by production and distribution methods in the current fashion industry. “We wanted to fabricate the footwear in a responsible way: less harmful for workers, lower carbon footprint and less waste, so we had to start from scratch,“ Pieters told Dezeen. This prompted the designers to develop a glueless construction method, using a thin nylon rope to tie the shoes together instead. Each shoe can easily be assembled by hand and repaired by the owner if necessary. “I wanted the shoes to be like a bike,“ Pieters said. “When your tyre is worn out you can just replace it and you can do it yourself.“ A rubber sole, and a leather insole and upper are all tied together using the nylon rope, by threading it through holes in each of the pieces. The upper wraps up over the foot and is secured by shoelaces. It is cut into different shapes to create two unisex styles, called the Macalon and the Derby. The rubber soles come in different colours, including white and yellow, while the leather is available in black or white. As the shoes can be reassembled by the owner, they can also mix-and-match combinations to create a custom style. Read more on Dezeen: Subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest architecture and design movies: