Exkursion to Museum Schoenenkwartier 

The town of Waalwijk is a former center of the leather and shoe industry in the Netherlands, which is due to the characteristics of the region. Clean groundwater and the many meadows formed an ideal basis for the former cattle breeding industry. The Museum Schoenenkwartier shows the history of the regional leather and shoe industry through an extensive permanent exhibition. 27 stations, equipped with various machines, processing stands and models, guide visitors through the various stages of leather production and processing right up to the finished men‘s shoe. In addition to the exhibition on the first floor, there are showcases and display cases with a variety of different shoe models on two further floors. Historical pairs from all over the world contrast with curiosities, concept shoes and sneaker models from recent years, while a studio and workshop are integrated into the first floor, which is mainly equipped with machines from the leather and shoe industry and can be booked for workshops. Otherwise, they are primarily used by the designers taking part in a 3-month residency. The designer Michel Gallus is currently based in the studio and is developing his study project “HIDE” in the Schoenenkwartier as part of the residency. “HIDE” is a modular shoe system that is limited to the material leather and does not require seams or gluing in the form of a mono-material-based modular system. Aesthetically, the shoe is deliberately based on mid-top sneakers in order to clearly differentiate itself from other leather shoes in terms of design. In his atelier, Michel Gallus explained the further development of the sole in particular, experimenting with spade-like plug-in systems to create a midsole, as well as with a wooden mold that can be used to thermoform entire pieces of leather.