Moccasins From The Future.
Apollo Moc for Native Shoes
March 2015
Now one of Native Shoe’s bestselling products, the Apollo Moc was the brand's first foray into textile / soft-top uppers (previously, all Native shoes were 100% injection moulded EVA). Developed on-site in Guangzhou, China, I designed the Apollo Moc to connect with a more sophisticated, sustainably-minded consumer.
It was critical that the design connected to Native’s current aesthetic, which often featured matte finishes with minimal detailing and circular perforations to improve the EVA material’s breathability. In addition to this, the Apollo Moc had to meet Native’s key product pillars of being lightweight, vegan, and highly breathable.
In order to reduce material consumption and cost, the entire upper of the Apollo Moc is crafted from a single pattern piece of Japanese microsuede. In order to achieve a consistent fit, we built the shoes around a custom last and integrated a bonded ‘internal frame’ to retain shape.
Further iterations of the Apollo Moc were created for projects with Issey Miyake Pleats Please and the special-edition Sashiko Embroidery pack. We also experimented with lined versions as well as using microperforated TPU laminations to offer breathable waterproofing.
