nat-2™ x Shahar Livne: Sustainable Blood Sneakers

Designers want to bring more attention to urgent international matters such as sustainability in upcycling the leftovers from animal-based industries

nat-2™ Designer Sebastian Thies and Eindhoven based Designer Shahar Livne have joined forces creating the world‘s first sneakers made from real blood.

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In most slaughterhouses, blood is drained into the sewers and waterways, or re-used as a colorant for meat. Inspired by the construction and de-construction of living subjects in the food industry, Shahar Livne developed a new handmade “bio-leather” by using fat and bones driven materials from the waste streams of slaughterhouses in the Netherlands and utilizing the wasted blood as a colorant and a plasticizer.

Other materials used in this concept shoe are finest nappa leather, glass, a real cork insole and real rubber outsoles.

The shoes are made entirely by hand in Italy and all according materials are coming from the same region.

The extraordinary material mix gives the product an absolute new feel and look, never experienced in footwear before.

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By realizing these unique sneakers nat-2™ and Shahar Livne want to bring more attention to urgent international matters such as sustainability in different animal-based industries by using nature-given resources and upcycling leftovers from those industries. But also making a point for more tolerance, open-minded thinking by raising fascination, curiosity, highlighting the wasteful and disrespectful treatment of animals and natural resources.

Accompanying the sneakers in its 100% recycled paper packaging is a limited edition poster silkscreen printed with a uniquely developed real blood pigment by Shahar Livne, and hand-signed by both designers.

About the material

The “Meat Factory” project is a series of material experiments with the aim to create dissonance between attractiveness and disgust, natural and industrial attitudes while focusing on the blood as a material and a colorant. The results of the project are visualized in two directions:

1. The use of blood as ink producing an exciting natural color range in a silkscreen technique, a repetitive technique that references to the anciant pigment Oxblood and the industrial revolution relating to food and materials.

2. The Bioleather is made only from the meat industry driven waste and low-value materials as a suggestion to create new valuable replacements for a polluting and often cruel industry. Shahar investigated the construction and deconstruction of living subjects and the wasteful and cynical treatment of animals and natural resources by human beings, inspired by the philosophy of “Nose to Tail” attitude of using the entire animal.

About the designers

Shahar Livne (Israeli born, *1989) is an internationally known designer located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Her lifelong fascinations in nature, biology, science, and philosophy developed into intuitive material experimentation way of work during her bachelor studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven. Shahar’s body of work focuses on conceptual material research in a multi-leveled methodology, bringing to life narratives through objects and installations centered around materials.

Sebastian Thies (Munich born, *1981), 6th generation footwear designer since 1856 has launched the sustainable luxury brand in 2007. Ever since award winning nat-2™ is all about innovation, design and sustainability paving the way for the future fashion footwear by using unique, uncommon materials such as milk, fish leather, natural felt, recycled leather and many vegan luxury alternative materials such as stone, wood, corn, cork, glass, fungus, coffee, grass, flowers, natural rubber, …

Remark: No animal has been harmed or will be in the future by creating these pieces of art. All organic ingredients are from leftover materials. The glue is water-based.

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Source

nat-2™, press release, 2019-03-27.

Supplier

nat-2™
Shahar Livne

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