COURSE @ OUR NEW LOCATION IN ALICANTE!

Factory Forward:
design for manufacturing in the EU

JULY 21 - 25, 2025

As the footwear industry faces rising tariffs, environmental pressure, and growing demand for transparency, the need to bring manufacturing closer to home has never been more urgent. Yet most footwear professionals lack the practical knowledge needed to design products that can actually be made outside of Asia, at scale, for a commercial price and margin, and without waste. This course bridges that gap: giving designers, developers, and innovators direct access to European factories, and the tools to create factory-ready, sustainable concepts that fit today’s shifting industry realities.

There is a special early bird rate of 750 euros until May 10.
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The factory of Susy Shoes in Elda, Alicante, making shoes for high-end brands like Jimmy Choo. The area also offers options for many other types of footwear

  Footwearology, Alicante (city), Spain

  Duration: 5 days, Monday - Friday

  09:00 - 18:00 CEST

  Trainer: Nicoline van Enter
  Certificate provided

  Maximum 10 participants

  IP stays with participants (mutual NDAs signed with factories)

Who is this course for?

  • Designers tired of creating beautiful prototypes that are impossible to make at scale
  • Product developers who want to understand factories, not just email them
  • Consultants, educators, or changemakers who believe sustainability starts with practical knowledge
  • Entrepreneurs hoping to build locally or reshape existing factory relationships
It is especially valuable for those seeking to reshore or nearshore footwear production to Europe, whether for reasons of:
Tariffs and trade disruption
Environmental and social sustainability
Shorter lead times and supply chain transparency

You don’t need in-depth technical manufacturing knowledge to participate—just a strong design or innovation background and a desire to understand how to make better shoes by designing for the factory floor. The types of factories that we visit will be based on the needs of the participants.

Manufacturing in Alicante

From July 1, 2025, Footwearology will be based in a new lab in the center of Alicante, Spain, right at the beach front! This also brings us much closer to the main manufacturing areas of Spain - such as nearby Elche and Elda - that offer a wide variety of footwear factories and suppliers, from classic leather footwear, to espadrilles to sneakers and from leathers to textiles to 3D printing materials.

Alicante is especially strong in the medium to luxury price ranges, but of course the price also depends on your design: a smart design can lead to a lower price and this is one of the aspect we will address in this course.

The videos below show the fascinating contrasts in the region, from factories like Studio Ilana that have a very high level of craft and make footwear for luxury companies like Hermes, to ultra high-tech factories like Simplicity Works, who´s fully automated 3D bonding technology can produce advanced molded constructions in a matter of seconds.
The view from our new lab in Alicante...

Simplicity Works

Studio Ilana

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Course Schedule

Day 1: Context and Foundations

  • Theme: How European footwear manufacturing actually works—and why it matters now more than ever.

  • Introduction to the course and fellow participants

  • Deep dive into the realities of local production: tech, labor, sustainability, waste

  • Case studies of factory bottlenecks and innovation potential

  • How can we redesign existing shoes made in Asia for production in Europe?
  • Introduction to the factories that we will be visiting the next day

Day 2: Factory Field Trips

Theme: Reality check—what production looks like on the ground.
Guided visits to three factories in the Alicante region, based upon the needs of the course participants

  • Group observation: technology, materials, waste streams, workflow
  • On-site analysis: What challenges do they face? Where is the innovation potential?
  • Group debrief: Map out each factory’s challenges and opportunities

Day 3: Concept Ideation

Theme: From problem to concept—using creativity to drive change.

  • Guided ideation session using the Footwearology Future Footwear Card Game
  • Brainstorm ideas: new technologies, material reuse, improved workflows
  • Participants each select one idea to develop based on peer ranking
  • Footwearology mentors guide concept framing and direction

Day 4: Concept development

Theme: Sharpen your idea into a professional concept.

  • 1:1 and small group mentoring with Footwearology
  • Refine your concept: market logic, factory integration, material strategy
  • Create your final visual presentation with key messaging and factory alignment

Day 5: Presentation Day

Theme: From idea to impact.
  • Morning: Finalize presentations, rehearse, refine
  • Afternoon: Factory owners return for pitch presentations (under NDA)
  • Feedback session with factories and Footwearology team
  • Certificate ceremony + closing drinks
Course outcomes:
  • A professional-level concept aligned with real manufacturing constraints
  • Insight into European manufacturing systems, waste, and innovation challenges
  • Opportunity to collaborate with factories post-course (optional, case-dependent)
  • A certificate of completion from Footwearology
  • Ongoing connection to Footwearology’s expert network
  Included
  • Transportation to the factories from the lab
  • Coffee & tea at the lab
  • Footwearology Future Footwear Ideation Kit
  • Certificate
  • Sunshine and sea view
  Excluded
  • Travel to and from Footwearology
  • Accommodation
  • Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
  • Please bring your own laptop, there is no specific software required

Factory Forward: designing for manufacturing in the EU

Enroll now to enjoy the early bird rate!