PRESENT

Micam Academy shoe design

February 22-24, 2026

This year, the challenging goal that MICAM proposed to the Arsutoria School teaching team was to organize a training experience for students from design and fashion schools—we expect more than 500 over the three days of the fair—that would immerse them in the heart of “how a pair of shoes is made” through an experiential workshop in which the students themselves would propose design ideas to be implemented right at the fair. The focus points were:

STYLE

the shoe had to have an eye-catching design

BRING IT HOME

each class should have been able to take home a pair of finished shoes

MAKE IT YOURS

students should have been able to customize the design during the fair

FAST ASSEMBLY

it was necessary to invent a simple and fast way to produce the shoe at the fair

EDUCATIONAL

the production process should have shown some innovative technologies and be absolutely green

This project has been made possible by

Scroll to explore

DECONSTRUCTED

BREAK IT DOWN

Together with our design instructors, we decided to create a "barefoot" model—a very lightweight and flexible shoe that can be worn like a sock, allowing the wearer's foot to feel in contact with the ground while still protecting it from rough terrain.

As is often the case, we started with the search for a sole, and when it comes to technical soles, Vibram naturally comes to mind. We chose the Furo Cup sole, a technical rubber compound that’s extremely lightweight and has a very attractive design.

We imagined the shoe’s upper to be equally soft, enveloping the foot to protect it and provide stability while walking and running, but above all, stretchy enough to be easy to put on without laces or a zipper. The material we chose is Pidigi’s Airtunnel, an engineered mesh widely used in orthopedics for its softness. Comfortable enough to be used without an internal lining, this material offers excellent stability thanks to the fabric’s three-dimensional structure, which maintains the shape of the foot well once molded.

We imagined a shoe with an upper that, before being sewn and assembled with the sole, could be laid out like a canvas and allowed school students to draw on it.

The solution we found was to heat-fuse a thermoplastic film (Poliflex, also distributed by Pidigi) over the material chosen for the upper (Airtunnel), which would permanently adhere to the underlying material without the need for any adhesive. Being made of TPU, the film is slightly stiffer than the upper material, a fabric constructed from a polyester yarn to which a small amount of elastane is added, giving the final fabric good elasticity.

The two loops positioned on the instep and on the heel were made using a Nastrotex-Cufra ribbon which was embroidered by the Tajima machines of Studio Auriga.

We needed the upper to be made from the smallest possible number of pieces. At the trade show, any extra stitching would have taken up precious time.

The Airtunnel material lends itself well to creating a lining-free upper, and this alone reduced the number of steps required to create the shoe. Initially, we considered building a low-cut upper in a single piece, similar to that used for running shoes. Once we’d completed the first prototype, we weren’t entirely convinced by the aesthetics of the low-cut model, and we preferred to maintain a higher design, reaching the ankle bone, typical of an ankle boot. Unfortunately, the ankle boot upper model can’t be made in a single piece, so we decided to add a lateral split to the model.

The result is an upper made up of two pieces that need to be assembled together with two stitches (for a one-piece upper, a rear stitching on the heel would have been sufficient).

An elegant shoe is typically lasted using two complex and very large machines: the pre-lasting machine and the sock maker. We chose not to bring these machines to the trade show due to space constraints. Instead, we opted for the “strobel” construction typical of sports shoes: a sock is made by assembling the upper with a fabric insole using a special sewing machine that creates the “chain stitch.”

THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

innovative and green

You will find many machines in the Academy Area of Micam, an expression of Italian excellence in the sector.

1

We start with the Comelz CJ1 automatic cutting table which allows us to cut the two upper materials and the strobel insole that Biagioli made available to us

2

The next step is to heat-fuse the Poliflex TPU film over the Pidigi Airtunnel engineered mesh; we will do this using a heat press provided by FAV Fratelli Alberti

3

The pieces of the upper are sewn with three Bramac sewing machines: a zig-zag machine to assemble the two pieces of the upper, a half-column machine to sew the two loops to the upper and finally a strobel machine to assemble the upper to the insole and create the sock typical of the construction.

4

Strobel stitching requires a perfect match between the upper design and the insole geometry. To achieve a well-defined line on the toe of the model, we decided to include a toe-shaping stage, which allows us to create a guideline at the front of the upper and achieve better results when sewing the strobel insole. The machine is provided by Brustia Alfameccanica.

5

Once the upper has been processed, we move on to the assembly phase between the sock and the sole; the plastic last produced by Formificio Romagnolo is inserted and then the adhesive from Industrie Chimiche Forestali is applied to the bottom of the upper using the spray gun in the glue bench by Sabal

6

Using a water-based PU adhesive allows us to avoid the solvent traditionally used as a means of dispersing the adhesive; this choice requires the use of a machine that speeds up the evaporation of the water: we will use a small oven that Elettrotecnica BC provided us; once the water has evaporated, the polyurethane adhesive is not immediately sticky: the so-called “dry residue” remains on the surface of the support, i.e. a solid film that must be reactivated to trigger adhesion; Elettrotecnica BC also provided us with a reactivator, i.e. a system of lamps that heats the adhesive and allows us to proceed with the work.

7

To complete the adhesion, the two supports, the bottom of the upper and the sole, must be pressed together; pressure is a fundamental factor in achieving correct adhesion between two supports; at the fair we will have an innovative membrane press from Mec-Val available with an X-ray system that allows us to see on a screen what happens while the sole is pressed to the upper.

8

The last step in the construction process is to sew the side of the Vibram box sole to the upper; we use a special Ciucani sewing machine with a special arm and needle that allow us to carry out this operation

9

Once assembly is complete, the last is removed from the shoe and a fussbet is inserted, that is, an Ortholite insole trimmed using a die prepared for us by Fustellificio Cleda; the fussbett adds comfort to the fit of the shoe; an NFC tag provided by BAT, the innovation division of Brustia Alfamecanica, has been positioned under the insole; the tag is linked to the address of this online page you are reading: just place your smartphone near the sole of the shoe to automatically open the page explaining the history of this project in your phone’s browser.

10

The shoe is now ready to be placed in the cotton bag and delivered to its new owner.

EXPERIENCE IT LIVE

SEE THE PROCESS AT MICAM

22-24 February

2026

Rho Fiera

Milan

M&M Hub

@ HALL 5

Watch our craftsmen bring these shoes to life at the M&M Hub.

A joint initiative with Arsutoria School, MICAM and Simac Tanning Tech