Intensive Shoe Design & Making

Intensive Shoe Design & Making is an immersive 6-credit hands-on course rooted in Florence, where footwear design, craftsmanship, and material exploration come together through the culture of Italian making.

Through sketching, pattern making, leather work, and shoe construction, students explore footwear as a dialogue between form, function, and personal expression.

Set near Santo Spirito, in the heart of Florence, the course immerses participants in a vibrant artisanal ecosystem where traditional techniques, contemporary design, and creative experimentation coexist.

the course

Final project

The course

The Intensive Shoe Design & Making course blends footwear design principles, traditional Italian shoemaking techniques and contemporary making practice. Students develop an original pair of shoes concept through moodboard research, sketching and material selection, while also experiencing all the stages of shoemaking, from taping the last and drafting patterns, to cutting leather, cementing, stitching, lasting and finishing. The program includes a study trip to a last factory and a heel manufacturer, offering direct insight into the craft’s supply chain and production culture.

The program covers the complete construction sequence of a shoe, from inner sole and reinforcements to outsole assembly and final finishing.

Set within Florence’s living tradition of leather and artisanal craft, the program offers a rigorous yet experimental approach to footwear as both design practice and embodied knowledge.

Final project

Throughout the program, participants develop a final project, translating their design research, material exploration, and shoemaking process into a fully realized pair of handmade shoes.

From the first sketches and pattern development to leather selection, construction, and finishing, each student engages directly with materials and workshop techniques to create footwear that reflects their creative vision, technical growth, and personal relationship with the culture of making.

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SCHOLA offers a curated selection of studio-based programs in craft, design, and making, developed in collaboration with accredited academic institutions and designed to carry transferable university credits.

Rooted in the Intelligence of the Hands, each program places material experimentation and hands-on practice at the center of the learning experience, offering students a form of education that is as much about making as it is about knowing.

For information on curricula, credit recognition, admission requirements, or institutional partnerships, fill in the form below and our team will be in touch.