Constructing the new athleisure sneakers - Arc Racer
Sneakers | Fashion | Sports | Manufacturing
The casual-athletic sports domain of India has been gaining attention and we wanted to be a part of this pioneering efforts. I was responsible in designing the Arc Racer sneakers using the anthropological data collected of individual foot sizes across India, especially using the diversity of the city of Mumbai.
I was the lead starting from research, sneaker studies, to prototype building and towards getting the samples and finally manufacturing it in China. We partnered with selected users and influencers for testing, marketing and launching it in India.
My Role
Industrial Designer
Researcher
Targets
Athleisure, Sports
Enthusiasts
Timeline
10 months
2019
Org
Elevar Sports
Mumbai, India
Tools
Elements
Miro, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, SolidWorks
Research, Sketching, Ideations, Prototyping, Manufacturing
The Challenge
Why do we not have durable , well-performing sneakers in India?
As the athleisure world grows, we are reliant on external brands for comfort and durability which may not fit the average Indian consumer's want. This is an effort to research into Indian foot demographics and build a sneakers for the Indian market through data and science.
The Insights
I collected 200+ data samples of Indian men and women foot sizes to build a database for the sneaker construction
Indian anthropology
To understand the inside-out of the sneakers, I dissected used shoes from various brands to learn the functionality of each element.
Construction, not destruction
Starting with my favorite sneaker brand, I looked into several brands for inspiration and learning to design and build the Arc Racer.
Peer Learning
The Solution
The Arc Racer sneakers for Elevar Sports
A versatile silhouette sneaker providing the best comfort and high performance adapting to most sports and the best athleisure aesthetic build with 3D knit at an affordable price range.
The Impact
Financial
With a mere profit margin of 30%, we launched the sneakers at a mid-market sneaker range, giving advantage to customers to own the premium sneakers built in India.
Although the revenue was decent, the O&M costs were higher due to import and other manufacturing charges.
Social
Users were content with the Arc Racer's premium feel and comfort with versatility.
There was a snowballing, pyramid effect to the launch and the sales making the product more attractive to customers.
Strategic
The pattern and shape of the sneakers were well spoken of and this inspired us to launch other lines of sneakers.
Due to the delay in delivery and make time, we had to reconsider the manufacturing efforts in China and look for in-house manufacturing.
Click below to understand my process
Explore More
