The typical guy probably has around three pairs of shoes. Black or brown dress shoes, athletic workout shoes, boots, and I guess I could throw in as a bonus, flip-flops. I’m not criticizing here, just saying that most guys do not look at shoes and shoe design in the same way that women do. I know, I know, there are exceptions to every rule you say. There are guys with athletic shoe collections like my personal trainer friends at the Y, and people like me who are quite eclectic in their footwear tastes. We hear stories of rappers and rock stars with entire closets dedicated to their Nikes, cowboy boots and designer brands. But I guess I’m sticking my neck out and saying the usual work-a-day dude doesn’t care about his shoes that much. Or does he?
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| Brodie Tierney, men’s footwear designer. |
I am being intentionally inflammatory here, trying to get a rise out of this conversation. I know for a fact that when I wear a really awesome and different pair of shoes, people notice. Maybe some guys don’t want to risk attracting attention, so they wear pretty basic stuff. But if I see any more of the hideous athletic slides worn with socks this summer, I just may snap. Anyway, to give our dialog an insider’s perspective, I contacted Mr. Brodie Tierney. He’s a great guy I worked with during his modeling career and always thought well of. Today, he is a men’s footwear designer at Weyco Group Incorporated, right here in Milwaukee.
Now that we have our expert on board, let’s see what he has to say about the state of male foot coverings now and on the horizon.
How long have you been in Milwaukee?
It will be 10 years in August.
How did you get into design?
I’ve been drawing as far back as I can remember. Drawing everything around me and scenes in my mind. With a passion for all art through the years, most importantly realism, design was a natural extension of my ideas and interests. I received a solid art and design base from North Iowa Area Community College and then transferred to Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design to earn my B.F.A in industrial design. I chose industrial design as my major because the product design process touches on all fine art aspects.
When did you start designing men’s shoes?
If you go by all the shoe sketches in the margin of my high school notebooks, it was in the late ’90s, but professionally in 2005.
What brands does Weyco Group represent?
Florsheim, Nunn Bush, Stacy Adams, Brass Boot, Umi and Bogs.
What is the process involved in designing shoes?
From concept to production, it’s a six-month process. The year has two design seasons: Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter.
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| Mr. Tierney’s design desk. |
It starts off with evaluating the current line and finding silhouette voids within each category. After the initiatives are established with management, we shop the market for trends and inspirations to kick start our ideas. Then we start to sketch our concepts, thinking through the details and balance of the upper pattern and outsole. We take our ideation sketches and turn them into line art. We then spec colors, details, materials and leathers that fit our vision of how the shoe should look and feel. This information is sent to our factories by our product developers, who play a huge role in keeping the process running along smoothly. The factory samples the shoe, with what we hope is correct proportions and materials, and it’s sent back to us for review and revisions. The revisions are then sent back to the factory for a new sample, and this process continues three or four times until the shoe is exactly how it needs to be. It’s very gratifying to see your design come to life with each step.
Trends for women seem to pop up all the time. Men’s shoe styles seem to remain somewhat static. Does that ring true?
That is true on some level, but all styles have their time and place. And with this comes a new twist or take on what once was. Their needs to be emotion and an appropriate attitude in the shoe that attracts the target consumer, or it will remain static. The consumer’s mindset is getting younger and more casual, and with casual comes a greater opportunity to be creative. Design-driven brands set the new trend tone each season and the trickle-down effect moves the needle for more conservative brands. There are certain patterns or silhouettes that don’t change and shouldn’t if you ask me. They are classics. Wingtips are trendy right now, and there is something to be said about being timeless.
What are some of your favorite designs that you’ve done?
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| Mr. Tierney’s G-series boots. |
My most recent work is some of my favorite. For Fall/Winter ’10 I designed the G-series boots (pictured) that allowed the brand to enter into a more casual young offering while filling a void in the line.
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| The sole for Mr. Tierney’s dress sport design. |
I also designed a new dress sport group. The uppers read more conservative while the dual component outsole has a more athletic influence (pictured). I enjoyed the challenge of designing a dress shoe that appears as an outer heal but offers the support and cushion in a unique way.
What are the top-three types of shoes every man should own in your expert opinion?
If only three, they should be staples that round out your lifestyle. I would have to go with a pair of dress wingtips, distressed leather ankle boots and simple, cool, casual sneakers.
Any fashion advice for guys in general?
Be true to you. Find the items you like and wear them. Keep it simple.
What are the next new trends in men’s footwear?
The new trends that are hot on the market now are simple styling, lightweight, low profile, and more barefoot shoes. Bright colors, perforated leathers and canvas/ leather combos are also big for summertime. This fall you’ll still see plenty of distressed leathers, suede on all platforms and boots with a vintage vibe inspired by the archives.
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Since my first pair of beaded Indian moccasins from the Wisconsin Dells to my blue suede platforms in high school, I have always loved a great shoe. I had no idea the painstaking process that went into shoe design, but now that I do, I’m certainly going to pay closer attention to the details that Mr. Tierney mentioned. Once again, the level of creative types working their magic here in Milwaukee impresses me. Smart, fashionable, intelligent and, yes, cool people surround us everyday. All it takes to see the style possibilities in our town is to walk a mile or two in their shoes.
Check out this link (www.coroflot.com/brodiesign) to Brodie’s portfolio for a peek at more of his design work.
Next week: Backstage with the gang of designers and their models at the Mt. Mary annual fashion show “En Route” at the PAC. Pictures, videos and more!
