2023 / Fashion
COWRIE HEEL
COWRIE HEEL uses the cowrie shell as both symbol and structure, turning an object associated with adornment, value, and heritage into a fashion support form.
Category
Fashion
Status
Prototype / Fashion Object
Role
Footwear Design
Context
Cultural Footwear Study
Focus
FootwearIndustrial DesignCultural Object
The cowrie shell reimagined as heel architecture.
Context
A familiar symbol moved into footwear.
The cowrie shell becomes the focal point of the shoe, shifting from ornament into the structural identity of the heel.
Design Response
Soft symbolism, hard structure.
The design contrasts a clean sandal upper with a sculptural cowrie form beneath the heel, letting the cultural reference remain visible from the side profile.
Details
Cowrie-shell heel
Sandal upper
Sculptural side profile
Cultural References
Cowrie shell
Adornment
Value and heritage
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