Soft II is one of ECCO’s classic shoes from 1984, and a bestseller throughout time. Accompanying Lærke’s new clothing designs, the shoe was brought into a new time and context.
Why use ECCO’s Soft II?
“I have worn Soft II myself for many years. I like that it is a classic, very minimalistic and pure in style. At the same time the shoe is very recognizable, and a shoe that people have a lot of different opinions on,” says Lærke Bang and continues:
“I thought it was interesting to take the shoe out of its original context and see what happens when you take an old-school classic and bring it into something more contemporary – a sense of updated reality.”
Which kind of expression did you go for?
“I was going for an expression that was pure in style, but at the same time with the element of surprise. I like mixing things that you would not normally combine, like extravagant silks with ordinary felt. My designs aimed to push those limits and challenge myself and the viewers by using elements in a new context.“
How was the result?
“The collection itself is rather commercial, but with a layer of something more sophisticated. It is simple and recognisable styles where I played with the proportions and combinations to achieve different expressions.”
What was your inspiration?
“My point of departure in the project was to investigate the potential in my own textile experiments. In this process, I worked very intuitively and decided on form and silhouettes from the qualities and capacities of the samples.”
Lærke’s designs were subsequently displayed at three exhibitions: Nikolaj Kunsthal, at Gallery during Copenhagen Fashion week, and at Finders Keepers Gallery along with other new designers.
Pictures by Victor Jones
About ECCO
ECCO, a world-leading brand of shoes combining style and comfort, has built its success on quality and innovative technology. Founded in 1963, ECCO is one of the few major shoe manufacturers in the world to own and manage every step of the shoemaking pro-cess. Today, ECCO products are sold in 87 countries at 1,177 ECCO stores, 1,812 shop-in-shops and a total of 15,000 sales points around the world. The company is family-owned and the workplace to 18,500 employees from over 50 countries. For more information, please visit ecco.com