Heliotrope by A shoe can be

A shoe can be… reveals their shoe sculpture Heliotrope. It’s inspiration comes from a plant that exhibits heliotropism. A shoe can be… has chosen to present their sculptures by using moving image instead of showing just the final product. This film highlights their possibilities and skills and encourages to create new products in close co-operation. Heliotrope shows leaves and stem at the bottom (leather and wood) and the top of the shoe opens like a true color waterfall (Swarovski, leather and crystal beads).



Brooklyn Museum New York
Heliotrope is currently in New York for the exhibition ‘Killer Heels: the Art of the High Heeled Shoe’. This will be on show from September 10, 2014 through February 15, 2015 at the Brooklyn Museum, New York. The tour will go on tour to three other museums and will take about two years.

A shoe can be… by René van den Berg and Karin Janssen is a work of art, Dutch design, an addiction, exclusive, a label, a dream, unique, tailor made, better than sex, inherited, love, a story, exposed, authentic, one of a kind, a friend for life, timeless, craftsmanship, yours…

René van den Berg
Specializing in designing and manufacturing tailor-made shoes, René carries on a family tradition of shoemaking which dates back to 1902. He combines his creativity and designer skills with extensive knowledge on feet, materials and shoemaking techniques. Among others René collaborates with famous Haute couture and fashion designers like Thierry Mugler, Klavers van Engelen, Anouk Wipprecht, Heineken, Leanie van der Vyver and Joop van den Ende Theaterproducties. In addition René works as a teacher in traditional shoemaking at the Dutch Shoe Academy in Utrecht, centre of excellence for craftsmanship. René is the best kept secret of the Netherlands…

Karin Janssen
Karin, graduated from the Design Academy in Eindhoven, is a designer and creative entrepreneur who gets excited by projects in which she can combine her two- and three-dimensional expertise with her love for special materials. Her commercial projects differ from graphic design to shoe(related) design. Karin’s strong need to combine design and craft, made her attend the course artisan shoemaking at the Dutch Shoe Academy in 2003, followed by several workshops furniture upholstering and exploring new possibilities and perspectives on materials, craft and design. To fulfill her aspiration to explore, create and innovate, she started A shoe can be… together with René van den Berg in 2013.

More info about A shoe can be…
Don’t hesitate to contact A shoe can be… (+31 6 81906906) when you’re in need of exceptional footwear for your fashion show, TV commercial, music video, feature film or theatre production.

Credits for the ‘Heliotrope’ film:
Design: René van den Berg and Karin Janssen
Photo: Martien Schouten
Camera: Hessel Waalewijn
Editing: Taco Zwaanswijk/Virtual Shoe Museum
Music: Niels Bos/Florish Forest

More shoes by René van den Berg and Karin Janssen at the Virtual Shoe Museum.