The purpose of this thesis was to design a pair of performance shoes for two different Finnish pop artists. The goal was to find out what type of shoe works for and meets the demands of a pop artist best, as well as how the choice of materials affect the qualities of a performance shoe. The subject was studied specifically from the perspective of Finnish pop music, because “a performance shoe” in general was a term much too broad to cover. The foundation of the design was built on the needs and wishes of the artists themselves, and so Krista Siegfrids from Universal Music and Jannika B from Sony Music were chosen as the collaborating artists.

For the thesis, the information on creating a performance shoe was sourced online, from literature, and by co-design. An open interview was held for the artists to find out their desires for a performance shoe. The most important questions were also e-mailed to the leading experts of choreography, dance, and movement in Finland. As actual literature on performance shoes was not easily accessible, books on dance and music as well as material on shoe design and the history of footwear were utilized.

The final product of the thesis was a pair of unique performance shoes, the manufacturing of which providing extensive knowledge on the personal hopes and needs of artists, observations on the qualities of a good and practical performance shoe, as well as experience on different kinds of materials.