These PVC shoes by Japanese designer Satsuki Ohata could mould to feet like a second skin, using a process similar to dipping food in melted cheese (+ slideshow).
Satsuki Ohata designed the Fondue Slippers to give a user the feeling of walking around barefoot.
Currently at prototype stage, the shoes are created using a foot mould. The moulds are dipped in liquid PVC before being placed in an oven to harden between 200 and 300 degrees celsius.
Ohata is working on a self-dipping kit that would allow users to create their own shoes and is experimenting with different materials that are safer to use at home .
The shoes would be created in a similar way by dipping feet in a type of semi-solid liquid, allowing the material to mould precisely to the shape of the foot.
"I named it Fondue Slipper because the production process is similar to dipping things in melted cheese," Satsuki Ohata said.
Once the foot is coated in the coloured liquid, the material could be dried using a hairdryer until it sets to form a rubbery slipper.
The hardened material will be designed to be waterproof, allowing it to be cleaned and worn outdoors as well as inside.
"You can wear it as a slipper by folding down the heel, or you can wear it without folding the heel if you want to run," Ohata explained.
The Fondue Slippers come in a variety of colours and can also be customised with permanent marker pens.
The project follows on from a concept by London designer and researcher Shamees Aden for a pair of protocell trainers made from a 3D-printed synthetic biological material, designed to mould to a user's foot and repair themselves overnight.
