the 'venice heel' is an elevated sneaker designed for future flooding

sruli recht, a reykjavík-based award-winning, multi-dimensional artist known for challenging the norm through art, came up with the innovative idea to design futuristic footwear, sustainably made, that would solve possible problems in the years to come. the project is a first of its kind, made to inspire a generation of sustainable art/technology to dominate a variety of industries– now and in the future. the artist is selling his work through NFT marketplaces as a way to create unique, collectible, and immutable pieces for purchase.

images by marino thorlacius

sruli recht’s concept was inspired by the question ‘what can footwear do to solve potential human and environmental issues?’ the artist’s NFT sneakers, titled ‘footwear for a post-traumatic future’, feature three different designs. the first shoe, called the venice heel, consists of an elevated sneaker meant to keep the foot high enough to walk through swelling floods and deep waters. next, the phase change sneakers– designed with a built-in cooling vascular system that cools down the body without energy. and finally, the unbalanced sneakers–shoes created with the purpose to combat terminal balance problems that come with age. the footwear has been brought to life through a combination of 3D printing and painstakingly finished by hand.

recht was able to partner with industry, a minority-led creative consultancy based in portland, oregon, and together they minted the sneaker NFT’s. INDUSTRY works with high-profile shoe brands like nike and converse, so it only made sense for recht to work with the consultancy for this particular sneaker project. the concept itself was greatly inspired by the nike air mag, which introduced a new way of envisioning the future and asked the important question, ‘what’s next?’

project info:

name: DAMAGE – shoes for a post-traumatic future

designer: sruli recht

photography: marino thorlacius

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: yasmina karam | designboom