New, advanced methodologies for footwear design and manufacturing have come out of a concept called Evolve IM, run by London-based designer Assa Ashuach.

Some of the machines that join Hanwag soles to uppers in its headquarters in Vierkirchen are so old that not only are they no longer manufactured, but there is no maintenance service, so the German bootmaker’s staff have to carefully tend to the machines themselves.

Following on from its graphene-enhanced outsoles, the collaboration between UK-based Inov-8 and the University of Manchester is yielding more benefits for footwear.

Durability, an outsole too provide grip on a wide variety of terrain types, a split in the carbon plate and the insight and expertise of ultrarunner Tommy Rivs...