These 6 year old Vans had lived a decent life and were ready to be laid to rest. Instead of trashing them myself or sending them to a thrift store that would inevitably trash them as well, i decided to give them a new life.
I did this by deconstructing the shoe to its parts–the sole (the part that cushions your steps) and the upper (the part that hold/covers your foot). Of these two parts the soles had worn much worse that the leather upper. Using the Circle Welt technique, coined by sustainable shoe making duo Peterson Stoop, I created a new sole for the Vans. it uses a welt that allows old outsoles to be removed and new ones added. This process injects craftsmanship into a mass produced shoe. It is a bottom up approach to circularity by designing for repairability.
Watch the video of how i made it below.