University of London design students Billy Turvey, Charles Duffy and William Gubbins designed a pair of shoes that are complete rubbish. Literally, the shoes are handcrafted from discarded plastics collected from the English coastline and the banks of the river Thames. The satirical critique is an effort to raise awareness of the negative impact excessive consumption, specifically plastic pollution, is having on our environment and highlight “the direct correlation between waste and consumerism, and the disposability of contemporary products.”
The trio chose the shoe as a prime example because; what used to be a “handcrafted item made to last and designed to be repairable, now spends an almost insignificant amount of time on the ground doing what it was made for. As soon as the first component on a modern shoe fails, the pair is often discarded. The mass produced shoe is now essentially disposable. After you’ve finished with them they’re just another (two) piece(s) of rubbish that are likely to still be around long after your own body has decomposed; we’re all leaving behind ourselves a rubbish legacy.”
