Julian Hakes’ Mojito Shoe Takes Minimalist Design to New Heights

Household designers are constantly working on ideas to further make shoes more visually appealing, adding to them anything from straps and spikes to feathers and rhinestones. In doing so, they’re looking at footwear from the outside in, whereas British architect Julian Hakes is doing it the other way around. Because of this, the Mojito, Hakes’ design, looks stunning, but without giving up on comfort, he says for the Daily Mail.

Hakes is an architect and, because of this, when he first set out to design a pair of shoes, he looked at the way the foot moved when walking and which were the points on which the most pressure was applied. Of course, those are the heel and the ball of the foot, which has driven him to the conclusion that a foot plate for a shoe is not necessary. Consequently, he took that out – and the result is this piece of futuristic, minimalist, funky-looking material, the Mojito shoe.

The Mojito is called like that because it resembles the twisted piece of lime served in a glass of the Mojito cocktail. It’s made of rubber, leather and carbon fiber to create the impression that the woman wearing it is actually walking on air. This particular-looking shoe – a high-heeled one, nonetheless – offers the most support for the heel and the ball of the foot, while also looking extremely good, Hakes says. At the same time, it also challenges the view we’ve had so far of how a shoe must look.

“People say ‘how does it work?’ but you can see where the heel and foot goes. It protects the ball and the heel – that’s where the load is transferred when you walk. When I thought about high heels I wondered why there was the need for a foot plate. If you look at a foot print in the sand it is very clear to see that the main force goes to the heel and ball. The foot has its own inbuilt strength and support so why duplicate this? You would not have a jumper with rigid arms between elbow and wrist.” Hakes says for the Mail.

“Shoes have become so entrenched in our culture and people think they should look a particular way. I wanted to challenge that, wanted to show shoes could look different. Most shoes are designed from the outside in – they are designed to look good on the foot. As an architect I did the opposite and designed them from the inside out – I looked at how the foot moves, how it transfers the body’s load. For me, it wasn’t much different from designing a bridge.” the architect further adds about the colorful creation.

As of now, there are no plans to mass-produce the Mojito, but, according to Hakes talking to the Mail, demand has been so insane, he’s considering making more pairs.