Nature is obviously calling out loud designer Carmel Walsh and she simply can’t resist! She is not the first one to find inspiration in anything that has to do with nature, but she certainly knows how to do it in a very personal and challenging way. Her latest creations look like art pieces that could be plants that could be shoes and we at Yatzer certainly like challenges.

We let her explain it in her own words: “I was inspired by the shapes of cliffs and terraced farming on mountains; by the rich world of textures in coral reefs; by the change of color within the decay and erosion of the earth.The basic concept of life, the cycle of a seed growing into a plant whose fibers can be used to make natural fabrics, which in turn can be used to make sustainable footwear is beautiful and idealistic. The final goal is the reduction of impact upon that which I find inspiration - nature. What is born from nature returns to it in the end”.

But she doesn’t stay there. In a world where 330 million pairs of shoes are thrown into land fills per year, she felt the need to make a product that would endure and to try to find a balance between fast and slow fashion. Having collaborated with a wood restorer, Daniele Nencioni, she made the heels first in plasticine and then she sought a solution to carve to them light and strong woods. Local organic farmers and leather and textile manufacturers in Tuscany provided an interesting range of fabrics which complemented her designs.

Carmel Walsh also says: “My shoes are made with vegetable tanned leather, walnut wood heels, fabrics including caucciu covered organic cotton, linen, raffia, hemp, bamboo and cork to support the forms. Fun ideas spring to mind with my collection, changing the seeds instead of shoes with the passing seasons. It is my hope that in their second life they will decay and grow as an art piece.”

Well, what more could we add after that. These shoes were made for walking, and time will do the talking!