Boutique Hotel Inspired Footwear Design
Guesscreative x Pensole

WHAT IS THIS?

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As part of Gueston's Design Education at Pensole Academy, He was directed to design a dressy casual sneaker designed for a hotel manager at the Grove Hotel in Portland, Oregon within a one week long design intensive course at Pensole Footwear Design Academy. The hotel brand identifies itself as authentic, unobtrusive and inclusive. This design seeks to change the assumption of what type of shoe a hotel manager should wear. It aims to combine the experiences of feeling comfortable and looking presentable with the contrasting material choices, ariaprene and leather. The ariaprene material encourages an athletic upper with flexible and lightweight qualities, while the full grain leather pieces and dressy sole give a more dressy classy look.  

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WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THIS? 

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Portland's city grid became the inspiration of the sneaker design after learning the Grove Hotel's brand identity (authentic, unobtrusive, inclusive). The grid of the streets surrounding the Grove Hotel were designed to be transposed onto the texture of the ariaprene to demonstrate the hotel's unobtrusive & inclusive identities while the pairing of material choices sought to express authenticity. This design is an example of multidisciplinary design thinking developed by Guesscreative through fusing architectural and footwear design proficiency.