Life and Death with Each Step – The First Bespoke Footwear for a Humanoid Robot

• Lead Designer
  Jimmy Sugiura
• Design Team
  Designer And Maker: Jimmy Junichi Sugiura, Creative Director: Paula Weber, Auroboros
• Prize
  Winner in ARTISTIC FOOTWEAR
• Expertise
  Independent

This footwear was designed for Ai-Da, the world's first ultra-realistic artist robot, as a part of a Collaborative project “Biomimicry” with Digital Couturier Auroboros in 2021.
By following the project concept “Life and Death, Metamorphosis, Transformation, Realtime Growing Couture”, I raised questions
”What kind of Footwear does a humanoid robot want?”
”What is Life/Death for Design?”
I designed this bespoke footwear by combining cordwainer skills and technology to achieve a unique sense of the Organic module structures grown-up onto the Mechanical body of the Humanoid Robot.

Bio
A Craftsman, Designer, and Artist who has a background in Bespoke shoe Industry and creating works that locate at the intersection between design and sculptural art.
Started career as a collector of antique footwear but defy the Definition & Imagination of shoes and radically challenging possibilities, both as a human ergonomic tool and conceptual sculpture by throwing questions to viewers and asking them to rethink and debate “Is this shoe?” “What is the shoe?”.

Other prizes
2018.Jun The Best Accessory design award, Bilbao International Art & Fashion 2018, Bilbao, SPAIN