Entering into the cold winter months means that feet are going to need insulation to stay comfortable and warm. Since 2015 Heeluxe has tested how boots keep feet warm in freezing environments, and we’ve learned a few tips and tricks to design the best insulation in footwear. There are two main ways that feet get…
Heel fit is often overlooked in many shoes tested at Heeluxe. Bad heel fit reduces comfort, increases the likelihood of blisters, and causes early breakdown of a shoe. Our lab data on shoe fit reveals a few simple solutions for improving heel fit. Many brands don’t put much attention to it until they get complaints…
How Long Should Your Shoes Be? In footwear little things make a big difference in comfort. The difference between a good fitting shoe and an uncomfortable one is often less than a few millimeters. Many footwear brands and retailers are unsure how long their shoes should be for optimal comfort. So, how long should your…
The human foot has a lot of nerve endings in the toes, this makes it easy for your customer to feel something uncomfortable in front of their toes. How sure are you that the shoes you’re making are comfortable in this area? This article explains the importance of toe box depth, what types of shoes…
Not every shoe is going to perform well in the marketplace. At Heeluxe we’ve tested 1000s of prototype shoes. Here’s a list of the biggest failures to come out of our lab and what you can do to avoid a similar fate. Shoe Failure #1: This is the Most Popular Last This failure has happened…
Insoles are often overlooked and underappreciated in footwear. But they’re also an easy way to improve the comfort and durability of your shoes. Let’s cover the best ways to find the most comfortable insoles for any shoe you’re working on. Success Strategy #1: Determine the “Good/Better/Best” insoles for each shoe category. One insole won’t work…
Dress Shoes are BACK! 2022 is showing a large number of consumers returning to buying dress shoes for work, weddings, and walking around town. After 2+ years of wearing cozy shoes at home, making the “same old” dress and fashion shoes won’t feel great to your customers. Here’s how you can WOW your customers with…
Time is money. This post includes examples of how footwear brands and retailers are using SmartLast to save time during their fit evaluations. How Long Does it Take for a Human Tester to Give Shoe Fit Feedback? Before we share the impressive speed that SmartLast collects fit data with, let’s review how long it takes…
Many footwear brands wonder how their shoe’s fit compares to the bestselling shoes on the market. Until recently it was impossible to have accurate shoe fit data organized in a way that compares your shoes to every other shoe your customer wears. The SmartLast fit database enables you to have the most powerful fit data…
One SmartLast Covers All Lasts Shoe manufactures have 100s of lasts in their inventories. This article explains how your brand can use one SmartLast to test every shoe regardless of the last it was built with. SmartLast is a last only in name SmartLast’s is not an actual “last” used in a factory to build…
Your customers expect certain levels of performance from your shoes. People are not happy when shoes fall apart earlier than they expect. How can you predict durability of a new shoe sample before it gets on the feet of your customers? The first major durability problem we heard about at Heeluxe as a show that…
Early in the COVID pandemic a post discussed how more time at home was changing your customer’s expectations of shoe comfort. Now that we are returning to social activities, working from an office, and travelling, what are your customers looking for in shoe fit? Fashion/Dress: After years of less testing of high heels, dress flats,…
In the last few years, the number of cushioning materials used in footwear has exploded. As footwear brands continue to innovate with new foam compounds, molding techniques, and constructions, the consumer has access to more ways to optimize their cushioning experience. This blog discusses how to move away from a “one size fits all” model…
Working with hundreds of footwear brands from around the world provides Heeluxe a lot of data on the sample sizes that brands are using. Between 2010 and 2020 the sample sizes were very consistent across brands: almost everyone used a M9 US for Men’s, W7 US for Women’s casual and athletic, and W6 for Women’s…
“How are other brands using SmartLast for footwear development?” is one of the most commonly asked questions from brands when they see SmartLast for the first time. This post shares the details on how you can use the fast and accurate shoe fit feedback from SmartLast to improve your own product development. During product development…