FISH_FISH

The idea

The idea of this project came to me very spontaneously. When my future Italian partner Emanuele wrote to me, they liked my work and aesthetic of my studio, also presented themselves as fishermen who are recovering the fish skins to give them a second opportunity and use. I thought, this was an amazing idea and I imagined seeing my feet in the transparent waters of Maldivas or Ibiza, schools of fish touching me and moving around. That IMAGE stuck in my mind and I started to obsess with how to apply the fish skin, a sustainable material, for footwear. At the same time, I have been already designing and producing for my clients, from the cradle of footwear, the Spanish province of Alicante.

The birth of the project

Our project born from the real need of achieving an ethical footwear, concretely sneakers. Sustainability is still ´problem´ in the footwear industry, as it is a sector of using many chemicals and synthetic materials. When I mention sustainability I am not just thinking about sustainable material. But I put an eye on the production process, energy used in the factory, is it sustainable? Workers' conditions, are we inclusive with the marginalized people of the society??

Our factory uses 85% of solar energy to produce the shoes, the traceability of the materials is certified and reach only the European frame. Our contribution to society is the agreement with the local Educational Institute including the disabled young persons into the production process, concretely packaging phase.

The creative process

ORDER IN CHAOS, never better described my creative process! At the beginning of my career, I have been that ´correct´ designer, starting with sketching, then searching for the materials, trials, sampling, etc. But with the years of experience, I work backward! My design thinking is based on feasibility, so the first step was finding the rest of the materials for the shoes/because fish skins were already agreed with my partner/. The second step was a decision in which technology is suitable for this project. I found so many options, all in local production! In the end, I decided to make the injected sole and traditional assembly of the upper.

The collaboration

The project was mainly developed by the leader partner. My Italian partner, they are fishermen and it is difficult for them to unwrap in the environment of materials and fashion industry. They provided me the fish skins, naturally tanned and dyed, with the certification of traceability, coming from the sustainable fishery.

The future

I imagine myself following the development of FISH_FISH project, there are still some steps which have to be done, as a final testing of the product itself. So yes, definitely I find necessary additional support or investment to obtain a market- ready product.

The message

If you want a collaborative partnership when both or more sides are really involved, you have to ensure about the backgrounds of your partners, their skills, capacities, and understand what does it mean Worth, having very clear why and with which purpose you are the doing the project like this. From my side and I started just with the that IMAGE of fishes moving around my feet in the crystalline waters of Ibiza = from ZERO and with the partner offering me the use of the fish skins for the prototypes. I benefited so much from this project, I would highlight the LEARNING experience, at the professional and personal level also.