Taotao
︎ horspistesproject.com

Recycled rubber and leather

Ablacé Ilboudo leathergoods workshop
Paul Zabré & Théodor Nikiéma tire-recycling workshop  

In collaboration with Hors Pistes Project, Ouagadougou - BU



Taotao means speed in Mooré. This project is a challenge launched a few days before my departure from Ouagadougou, in collaboration with Ablacé Ilboudo, also called Nanga which means “speed and dexterity”: we decided to make a pair of shoes only in one day.

The starting point of this challenge is the flip flop model made of recycled tire, this shoe cut from a truck wheel, serrated with a knife. Its finishes can be improved but the idea of a tireless sole outcoming from a recovered material is our design direction.

We develop a model of summer sandal, the dirt track as a guideline, a sandal able to trample any ground, mud, sand, a sandal flanked by a thick sole, dug into a tire rubber, a thick sole which protects the feet, maintaining and surrounding it.


The lines are simple, a thick broadband holds the feet while another part allows the closing of the form at the ankle. The leather is cut raw edges, cut in the skin.

This model is directly carved into raw materials, each yoke is produced with a carnivorous gesture, gross, almost butcher. Finishes should be absolutely invisible, the leather a premium one, the shoe perfectly cut to the dimensions of the foot. This sandals are the proof a luxury shoe item entirely made by hand in Ouagadougou is possible with limited resources and in a short time.



             


  








         


       



            





  









                   







          


      




















        
      



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