INTRODUCING VESPA FOOTWEAR
I was proud to be asked to lead the footwear development program for a new licensing deal with Vespa. After spending my first season shadowing the “Motorsport” team, which included Porsche Design and Goodyear (the adi Racer Low being a high-volume model), I took ownership of the complete range plus the new Vespa collaboration in my second season.
Vespa required three entirely new footwear models (Vespa Gran Lusso, Sprint Veloce, and Special), with multiple material ways/ colorways for each. The tech pack called for custom eyelets, metal Vespa logos, line specific box and lining paper, and a leather insert on the outsole, each requiring sign-off from the Vespa licensing team.
TECHNICAL INITIATIVES
adilette Optimization
Conceived in the 1960s but only realized in the early 70s due to technological advances, the adilette was designed to help athletes avoid the "swamp of germs" that typically awaited them when they journeyed barefoot into the showers after training or competing. Launched shortly before the Munich Olympics in 1972, the sole was designed with suction pads to prevent shower slippage. Instantly recognizable with the wide bandage and three stripes across the top, they quickly became a cult item. Due to their heritage, there had been little to no change in the product's construction for decades.
adidas has partnered with Calzaturificio Jumbo near Verona since 1983, a relationship built on trust, collaboration, and innovation. Jumbo saw an opportunity to reduce the complexity of the assembly process, lead times, and excess inventory in their warehouses. They proposed forming the bandage and stripes in one production step, reducing the total number of pieces from four to two and dramatically increasing the range of bandage and stripe color variations.
After extensive component testing, wear testing, and a final concept review where management had to try and find the "new" version, the revised adilette went into production. This led to significant savings, greater creative flexibility, and no discernible drop in quality or aesthetics.
Cupsole Modifications
In an attempt to reduce some of the labor costs associated with production, we reviewed options to reduce the number of parts during assembly. One of the most promising was the idea to eliminate drop-in foam units in cupsole constructions and mimic the cushioning element by modifying the cupsole mold to include a raised honeycomb structure. At the time, the adidas Superstars were significant contributors to total revenue, triple sourced across three countries, making the program complex and expensive due to the volume of modifications required within a short timeframe. The directive was clear: if greenlit, we had to manage a full production change between seasons; there was no possibility of having some models rely on the old construction.
We created several testable options by extruding various geometries out of the cupsole itself to serve as the cushioning element and observed their response through Finite Element Analysis. The goal was to balance comfort (cushioning and torsional stiffness) and manufacturability. Once the design was settled, we looked at cost implications. Given the high volume of impacted products, it was clear we would see a net gain from the second season onward if executed well.
Following the template of the Adilette modifications, extensive component and wear testing was performed, with the project ultimately expanded to include most cupsole footwear across the Originals range.
Recent teardown reviews (I love run repeat) suggest that cushioning elements have been reintroduced in certain models, likely as part of an in-mold assembly process or other non-labor-intensive production step, rather than as drop-in components.
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