Tega Akinola’s Skylines Sandals Prove the Sky’s the Limit…

Tega Akinola is far from your average fashion designer.

The UK-based creative upcycles second-hand and discarded materials to make colorful fleece bags, tech flower vases, sporty footwear, and more. In an industry known for waste, sustainability is the name of the game for Akinola, and her collaboration with Autodesk reflects that ethos.

“I see a really interesting symbiosis and balance between nature and tech,” she explains. “A lot of the innovations in tech can be used to further sustainability and kind of undo some of the things we’ve already done to the planet.”

Autodesk can help manifest that symbiosis. The company provides a portfolio of Design and Make software to countless industries, such as architecture, construction, engineering, manufacturing and entertainment. Its Autodesk Fusion technology allows creators to digitally design, modify, prototype, and fabricate just about anything, including 3D printing which can be great for rapid prototyping.

The cloud-based software is a boon for footwear designers given its endless customization possibilities. For Akinola, who prides herself on “transforming ware into wear,” it could serve an additional purpose: reduce waste and use materials more efficiently.

When Autodesk approached the Northampton, England, resident to create a sustainable summer sandal inspired by limitless possibilities, Akinola’s mind began racing.

“I had a lot of ideas firing straight away about how we could interpret this.”

The 25-year-old typically refashions old clothing into new pieces that display the original brand’s insignia. Consumers are familiar with the logo, but have never seen it presented in the way that Akinola does, which she argues makes them gravitate towards it.

She adopted a similar approach in her design of the sandals.

Akinola incorporated an asymmetrical “A” on the upper. The detail is both a nod to Autodesk and—coincidentally—the designer’s last name. The puffy white outsole recalls cumulus clouds, while the gold lacing lends an air of opulence.

“I wanted [to make] something that was very sneaker inspired, so not like your traditional Greek style sandal, but [that] had a bit of hype to it and was more modern,” Akinola reveals. “I was thinking of something like Dingyun Zhang’s Crocs, where they’re very 3D and so futuristic in a way.”

Her sandal, which she calls the SKY_LINES, creates the appearance of walking on clouds.

While the finished product feels very Tega, the processes of designing and manufacturing it were mostly foreign to her. She started by putting together a handful of sketches. Once she and Autodesk settled on the look, Akinola learned how to use Fusion. Its modeling capabilities opened a whole new world for her.

“It was really quite simple to make changes to the modeling of the sandals,” she notes. “You could add curves here and there, lengthen things. When you render the sandals, you could put them in different sorts of environments to have a feel of what it would actually look like realistically. That was quite fun.”

As someone who’s constantly searching for ways to create with less, Fusion could make Akinola’s operation more efficient. For example she could digitally manipulate the design before producing it, limiting waste.

Next came 3D printing. Akinola had never employed the additive manufacturing technique but was always interested in trying it. This project was the perfect excuse.

“When we discussed the idea of 3D printing the outsole and then sewing the upper part onto it, it started to make sense how we could create the shoe,” she says.

Three-dimensional objects are typically printed using plastic materials. To construct the SKY_LINES sandal, Akinola initially looked at PLA (Polylactic Acid), one of the commonly used plastics that is generally more biodegradable and eco-friendly. However, it printed a hard, inflexible sculpture, which proved unsuitable for footwear. Ultimately, her sandal utilizes TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane), a rubbery, more malleable substance.

For the upper, Akinola did what she does best: gathered locally sourced materials, cut them, and sewed them together. Then, she sewed that onto the 3D-printed outsole. It took the multidisciplinary artist about two months from initial concept to finished product.

Now, consumers have the unique opportunity to own one of the limited-edition pairs (out of ten in existence) via a Complex sweepstakes.

As for what’s next for Akinola, she envisions using Autodesk Fusion in her future fashion endeavors.

“I have seen people 3D print their whole bags and I think that’s really cool.” Akinola says. “I would definitely want to try creating a bag.”

The sky’s the limit with Autodesk Fusion, and Akinola is soaring among the clouds.