WHY DESIGNERS KEEP COMING TO UNITED NUDE
PRESS STORY / FEATURE
From Iris van Herpen and Karim Rashid to threeASFOUR, United Nude has become a creative partner for designers pushing beyond conventional footwear.
Four radically different creative forces. Three collaborations this summer alone. And a return to something that has been fundamental to United Nude since the beginning.
For United Nude, a collaboration has never been about putting two names on a project— a collaboration is about turning ambitious ideas into reality.
In 2003, architecturally-trained designer Rem D. Koolhaas conceived the Möbius, an abstract architectural object designed to function as a shoe. Together, with seventh-generation shoemaker Galahad Clark, he founded United Nude. The foundations of architecture and industrial engineering combined with the principles of shoemaking would shape the brand for what it’s known for today—the hub for experimental footwear and future-forward design.
Over the years, the brand has worked with Zaha Hadid, ISSEY MIYAKE, Ross Lovegrove, Ben van Berkel and UNStudio, Michael Young, Fernando Romero, Iris van Herpen and threeASFOUR, among others. Some became long-standing relationships, including ten seasons with ISSEY MIYAKE and eleven collaborations with Iris van Herpen.
“I think my architectural background made me collaborative by nature,” says Koolhaas. “Architects are always working with clients and other specialists, and often designing together with them. Collaboration is a humble process. You have to give someone else’s idea space, but at the same time bring everything you can to make it work.”
For United Nude, that often means working through the technical challenges of an idea, from engineering and construction to the proportions and function of the shoe.
Not every project is intended for commercial production. Some designs become available to customers, while others remain couture pieces, appearing in exhibitions, editorial shoots and private collections.
IRIS VAN HERPEN
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United Nude’s partnership with Iris van Herpen dates back to the earliest days of her career when Koolhaas first discovered her work through Amsterdam-based Spice PR. That led to United Nude crafting the shoes for her first postgraduate runway show.
Eleven collaborations later, the two designers reunited for van Herpen’s Sonic Starquakes Haute Couture debut in Paris, creating four distinct footwear concepts. These included laser-cut uppers with cantilevered wedges, cascading metallic chains, and sheer mesh boots with hand-applied glass bubbles.
While many couture pieces remain bespoke showpieces, select designs transition into production—including one concept from this latest runway show, the Edge X, which has become available as a made-to-order design for a limited time.
“Couture gives us permission to push footwear further,” says Koolhaas. “The function can be artistic and emotional as well as practical. It gives you the freedom to make things you would probably never make otherwise.”
threeASFOUR
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This September, United Nude reunited with New York-based design collective threeASFOUR for its SS27 SAMSARA collection.
Four footwear concepts were developed for the runway, including the 3D-printed Ring Sandal, an original threeASFOUR design engineered and prototyped by United Nude.
“Working with UNITED NUDE is an absolute dream come true. The ring sandals were especially exciting for us, bringing a design from our digital fashion world into the physical space and onto the runway. The other three styles are UNITED NUDE signature classics, reimagined in silver as a special edition for our latest collection. We’re getting such incredible feedback and are very excited about what we can create together next!” — Adi Gil, threeASFOUR
KARIM RASHID
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Karim Rashid and Rem D. Koolhaas had been talking about making shoes together for more than a decade.
Over the years, Rashid regularly sent Koolhaas sketches and ideas for footwear. There were always new ones, and over time the sketches almost became a body of work in themselves.
Eventually, one of those ideas became the VOID Bootie.
The design translates Rashid's fluid industrial design language into a custom 3D-printed wedge, with a hollow opening through the structure that defines the shoe.
“With Void, the empty space is as important as the form itself. The openings reveal the body, create lightness, and visually elongate the legs. Together, we bring imagination into everyday life.” — Karim Rashid
Today, United Nude is headquartered in Los Angeles, where it has been based for the past decade.
The company remains independent and continues to receive more collaboration requests than it takes on. Some projects take years to develop, others begin with a single idea. The outcome isn't always a commercial product.
“Life is about good stories, and collaborations create those stories,” says Koolhaas. “I think people keep coming back for that. And because we get the job done.”