As part of our Athletic shoes workshop, we were given a brief by U.S polo to develop their shoes by focusing on the sport horse polo and its heritage. 

But let me first explain how the name of the project was derived. The term ringer in horse polo means a player or pony who has exceeded expectation. So, combining the fact that we would like to promote our design as a pair that would help you exceed expectation, as well as the design being based on a ring, the name felt pretty spot on, don't you think?

We first started by researching the brand and coming up with a moodboard to reflect the main keywords such as casual yet sophisticated, family oriented, athletic and very American in terms of colour and lifestyle. 

We then spent a good deal of time understanding everything there is to know about polo and horses, until we came up with elements we found interesting and could be used in terms of design. For instance, the reins and bit around the horse's muzzle, the protective bandages wrapped around the horse's cannon, the athletic sense of the sport, the design of the polo boots, its shape and the buckles and the use of leather. Combining those elements to the look of sophistication that the brand represents, we also added the oxford english shoes with the brogue effect to our mood board. 

The next step was to research different trends and decide on the technology, materials and form of the shoes we wanted to create. Inspired by the breathable knitwear technology and the Alexander Wang shape and sophistication, as well as the New balance mix of elegance and sports, we then started to sketch until we come up with the following design:

To visualize our concept better, we made a prototype out of canvas, rubber, foam and leather.

The different levels in the sole were inspired from the wrapped bandage around the horse's cannon and the holes evident on the knitwear is inspired by the sophisticated oxford shoes. 

The main design element however and the characteristic of the Ringers is the circular ring, connecting the strap, back and another strand that goes into the sole. This design is inspired by the reins and circular bit around the horse's muzzle. We even used a braided additive on top of the back part to emphasize the different kind of reins as well as the importance of braiding the horse's tails before a match, so they do not interfere with the mallet. The final design element taken from the sport was the  curved shape of the boot on on only one side. It will be more evident in the renders below.  

We made 3 lines of shoes, changing the materials for each line. Breathable knitwear and rubber straps for the athletic line. The same goes to the casual/outdoor line, but with a change of a leather strap to make it a little more fancy. As for the premium line, calf hair and a metal strap were used.