Vibram Furoshiki shoes wrap around your feet
Ditching shoelaces, velcros, and those new-fangled self-lacing robotic shoe-fastening alternatives, the Furoshiki by Vibram is an innovative new way to wear shoes.
Vibram Furoshiki by Vibram S.p.A.
Developed by Vibram, a leader in outdoor, leisure, work, fashion, orthopedic footwear, the Furoshiki’s revolutionary nature comes from the way it’s work. The Furoshiki is a flat piece of footwear that wraps around the foot, securing it in place. This wrapping action allows the shoes to secure themselves tightly around your foot, taking its shape. Additionally, the shoes can be manufactured and shipped as singular, flat SKUs, making them economical.
A winner of the DIA Excellence Award, the New Vibram Furoshiki “wrapping soles” are comfortable, secure, light, easy to carry around, easy to clean, and most importantly, easy to wear!
Sarang Sheth, Yanko Design May 15, 2019
At first glance, this is an utterly alien looking piece of technology that only gets more fascinating the deeper you go. Using a method called Furoshiki, which is using cloth to wrap and carry things, it’s a new shoe from Vibram made out nothing but a sole and a couple pieces of fabric to create the ultimate minimalist shoe. Named after the very art form that birthed its idea, the Vibram Furoshiki walks among us.
Easily adjustable to multiple foot sizes, Vibram has brought a lot of technology to bear on these shoes with their WaveGrip compound which is lightweight without sacrificing grip or comfort.
Meant for both extreme water sports as well as casual, everyday wear, the Furoshiki can break down flat or fold up like an origami swan to create a breathable, go-anywhere piece of footwear that’s ready for action and comfortable enough for lounging.
MW Byrne, HICONSUMPTION August 26, 2015
| Vibram Furoshiki. Vibram® Youtube Feb 3, 2015 |
Designer Masaya Hashimoto of Vibram Italy has created a line of wrap-around shoes that were inspired by and named for furoshiki, the traditional Japanese art of wrapping cloth.
“Wrapping cloth shoes, as well as a work of the first of footwear products for my career, was a chance to bring a new approach to connect the tradition to innovation. The Vibram world’s three centers (Italy, USA, China) enjoy staff with different cultural backgrounds and their collaboration resulted in this novel new shoe. Product development further rooted in the history and traditions of each region of the world widens the boundaries of innovation.”
Lori Dorn, Laughing Squid August 31, 2015
Kay, Rocket News24 Japan August 24, 2015
Before we had bags in Japan, we used furoshiki — elegant cloth in various colors and decorative patterns that can be used to wrap and carry various items, especially gifts.
Japan Department of Environment
While you don’t really see them in daily use now, furoshiki are quite useful in their own way, as they can be folded and tied in different ways and be used to wrap items of varying shapes and sizes, in addition to being eco-friendly.
But it turns out this traditional cloth has recently served as the inspiration for a completely new and unexpected product — Furoshiki shoes that wrap around your feet!
Created by Japanese designer Masaya Hashimoto, the Furoshiki Shoes were released earlier this year from Italian footwear company Vibram, known for their FiveFingers line of shoes that have a “barefoot” look and feel. As the name suggests, the Furoshiki Shoes are designed to be wrapped around the feet, much like you would wrap an item with a furoshiki cloth.
As you can see, the Furoshiki Shoes have a highly unique design, with no shoelaces but a velcro patch at the heel to keep your feet snuggly wrapped up, regardless of your foot type and shape. Vibram is calling it the first ever “wrapping sole.”
The Furoshiki Shoes are available in Japan from Vibram’s Japanese online shopping site for 17,064 yen (US$140). Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find them for sale on Vibram’s other European and American online sites, but as they do have an introduction on the shoes on their European site, you may want to check on the availability of the shoes with Vibram stores nearby if you’re interested.
Vibram will also be setting up a temporary pop-up store from August 26-30 at the Snack Café Kaho in Harajuku, if you’re going to be in the Tokyo area.
Well, we think the shoes certainly look light, and based on their design, they definitely don’t seem like they’ll pinch either. In this case, it appears these shoes combine “…modern footwear technology extremely well with a bit of Japanese tradition.” Plus, the shoes look like a lot of fun, which in our opinion counts for a great deal. Just because you want comfortable shoes, you shouldn’t have to give up adding a bit of color and style to your footwear after all, right?
Source Rocket News24 Japan
Additional sources
| Vibram Furoshiki OSLO WaterProof powered by Vibram Arctic Grip. Winter Vibram Furoshiki Oslo Waterproof – a full gusseted upper with an ice advantage – featuring Vibram Arctic Grip. The most advanced cold weather gripping system from Vibram. This footwear is designed to keep one warm on cold and wet roads while maintaining a clean look and feel aimed at practicality. Vibram® Youtube Sep 27, 2018 |
