Target’s new expandable sneakers do away with pinched toes for good
The footwear budget for Target shoppers who are the parents of young children just got a little smaller. Footwear designer D’Wayne Edwards‘s new patented shoe for the retailer can expand a full size for adults and half a size for children, giving kids some room to grow before the need new shoes. Named ÜNOS by Sz, for the acronym “U Need One Size,” the sneakers are a smart footwear solution for people who know the pains of inconsistent shoe sizing. They’re also a forgiving solution for short in-store try-on sessions, which might have you convinced that your new pair of shoes fits well—until you spend an hour in them at home and realize they’re tight around the toes. Adjustable shoes accommodate growing feet as well as feet that are slightly different sizes, and they’re more forgiving if you pick the wrong size. [Photo: Target] Edwards, a designer who’s worked with brands including Sketchers and Nike, launched the Pensole Footwear Design Academy in 2010 and was named one of Fast Company‘s Most Creative People of 2014. Last year he released his first shoes from his new New Hampshire shoe factory, one of the only Black-owned footwear factories in the U.S. Footwear can come in up to 40 different sizes, Edwards says, but the ÜNOS by Sz reduced that number to eight. The shoes, which sell for about $50 for adults sneakers and about $35 for kids sneakers, are sized by a range of sizes, like 5-6 or 9.5-10.5, instead of a single number. It’s like a full size of stretch is built in. [Photo: Target] There’s an environmental benefit for adjustable shoes, too, since it means fewer shoes that end up in landfills. Plus, the sneakers were specifically designed to take up a limited amount of storage and shelf space. “Normally designers design product based on some form of physical inspiration,” Edwards tells Fast Company, but the ÜNOS by SZ sneaker was “created from a business problem of how can you sell shoes in a space that is normally created to sell apparel.” Designing a cost-effective shoe for mass market consumers like Target’s “is much harder than designing an expensive shoe,” he says. There’s no room for error when it comes to keeping costs low. “You really have to know more about construction, materials, and pricing because every decision down to the penny matters,” he says. The key is figuring out how to “build a quality shoe construction, selecting the right materials with details that look like they cost more than they do while being cost efficient.” Edwards’s design hits that bull’s-eye for Target. The sneaker “builds on the Tarzhay legacy with shoes that look great, are incredibly comfortable, and built to last,” Jill Sando, the company’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of apparel and accessories, home and hardlines, said in a statement. For his part, Edwards described designing his ÜNOS by Sz product for Target as “a dream.”
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The footwear budget for Target shoppers who are the parents of young children just got a little smaller. Footwear designer D’Wayne Edwards‘s new patented shoe for the retailer can expand a full size for adults and half a size for children, giving kids some room to grow before the need new shoes.
Named ÜNOS by Sz, for the acronym “U Need One Size,” the sneakers are a smart footwear solution for people who know the pains of inconsistent shoe sizing. They’re also a forgiving solution for short in-store try-on sessions, which might have you convinced that your new pair of shoes fits well—until you spend an hour in them at home and realize they’re tight around the toes. Adjustable shoes accommodate growing feet as well as feet that are slightly different sizes, and they’re more forgiving if you pick the wrong size.
Edwards, a designer who’s worked with brands including Sketchers and Nike, launched the Pensole Footwear Design Academy in 2010 and was named one of Fast Company‘s Most Creative People of 2014. Last year he released his first shoes from his new New Hampshire shoe factory, one of the only Black-owned footwear factories in the U.S.
Footwear can come in up to 40 different sizes, Edwards says, but the ÜNOS by Sz reduced that number to eight. The shoes, which sell for about $50 for adults sneakers and about $35 for kids sneakers, are sized by a range of sizes, like 5-6 or 9.5-10.5, instead of a single number. It’s like a full size of stretch is built in.
There’s an environmental benefit for adjustable shoes, too, since it means fewer shoes that end up in landfills. Plus, the sneakers were specifically designed to take up a limited amount of storage and shelf space.
“Normally designers design product based on some form of physical inspiration,” Edwards tells Fast Company, but the ÜNOS by SZ sneaker was “created from a business problem of how can you sell shoes in a space that is normally created to sell apparel.”
Designing a cost-effective shoe for mass market consumers like Target’s “is much harder than designing an expensive shoe,” he says. There’s no room for error when it comes to keeping costs low.
“You really have to know more about construction, materials, and pricing because every decision down to the penny matters,” he says. The key is figuring out how to “build a quality shoe construction, selecting the right materials with details that look like they cost more than they do while being cost efficient.”
Edwards’s design hits that bull’s-eye for Target. The sneaker “builds on the Tarzhay legacy with shoes that look great, are incredibly comfortable, and built to last,” Jill Sando, the company’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer of apparel and accessories, home and hardlines, said in a statement.
For his part, Edwards described designing his ÜNOS by Sz product for Target as “a dream.”
