The Making of UNEEK

In 2013, KEEN lead innovator Rory Fuerst, Jr., challenged conventional footwear by reimagining every part of the shoemaking process with the question, “What would a shoe that fit unique feet look like?”

By using cords that freely conform to your foot, unlike traditional two-dimensional sheets of material, we created a shoe with an infinitely adaptable fit: UNEEK. A hybrid sneaker-sandal so innovative that factories told us they couldn’t make it. So Rory Jr. worked directly with the factories to develop our own process.

“I was the guy who was crazy enough to invest three years of his life in the UNEEK, and it was really just sort of this absolute defiance of the process and industry standards of making shoes,” he says.

See how our totally original open-air sneaker made from two cords and a sole came together.