However, let there be no mistake, it is fashion that makes the footwear industry go round. The never-ending demand from consumers for shoes of different styles with different toe shapes, different heel heights, different materials and different textures has generated and sustains the global footwear industry at a level way beyond supplying functional needs. Fashion is the stimulus for change and business.

The Raven, featuring VectraSense ThinkShoe technology powered by Motorola DigitalDNA, senses the wearer's activity and dynamically adjusts the shoe to enhance performance.

Yet what is interesting is that consumers are no longer prepared to sacrifice comfort for fashion. In every piece of market research that is carried out, the wearers' demand for comfort is consistently top or near the top of the list. The wearer wants to feel instant comfort the moment the footwear is tried on in the shop, and expects that feeling to last through the lifetime of the shoe.

Many ingredients in the comfort equation are well known and well applied. They include a good basic fit and the use of materials that readily bed to the foot, flex and absorb, even transmit, foot moisture. Recent decades have seen the increasingly widespread use of cushioning, sometimes provided by pressurised air, to improve fit and absorb shock, while it has become possible to achieve lightness with performance using new materials and new technology. There has also been the advent of 'breathable' membranes that provide waterproofing with foot moisture transmission, and new lightweight materials that provide highly effective insulation against heat and cold.

These developments have all made a considerable impact on the comfort of footwear.

Temperature control

This is seen in the phase change materials that are enclosed in tiny microcapsules within the footwear fabric. If the temperature rises or falls outside a prescribed working range, then a phase change takes place. Thus, when the temperature rises due to physical activity or a higher ambient temperature, the microcapsules react by absorbing heat from their surroundings. When the temperature falls due to the absence of physical activity or because of lower ambient temperature, the stored heat is released.

Similarly sophisticated new products introduced this year at Global Leather in the USA, include Dryz InteliTemp launched by Dicon Technologies. As reported in American Shoemaking, this is a two-part material to keep feet dry. It features a lining that draws moisture away from the foot and a foam that turns the moisture into a gel. When the shoe is removed, the gel gradually returns to water and evaporates. The product incorporates an ingredient called Thermoloc to provide insulation against heat and cold, and Aegis Microbe Shield to kill off bacteria and fungi.

How DRYZâ„¢ Works

• The sock liner wicks away moisture from the foot and transports it to a layer of copolymer foam.
• Upon contact with perspiration, this foam absorbs and stores moisture away from the foot in a gel like substance.
• The DRYZâ„¢ insole also has special patented odor killing agents called ReScentâ„¢ as well as additional ingredients that fight the growth of odor causing fungi and bacteria.
• The gelled moisture dissipates continuously throughout the day and completely when shoes are removed. Within hours the DRYZâ„¢ insole is fresh and ready to begin the process all over again, the next time you step into your shoes.

A similar foot-dry mechanism is provided by a new version of Dri-Lex, a multi-zone comfort lining with Hydrofil nylon. This Faytex product absorbs moisture away from the foot and transports it to the outside through the Hydrofil nylon, leaving the layer close to the foot dry, cool and comfortable.

A moisture wicking mechanism is also incorporated in Jones and Vining's Polyfresh Polytech, a shock-absorbing foam material for footwear applications.

A fascinating approach to adjusting foot cushioning to the wearer's specific activity such as resting, walking, running or jumping is provided by 'Thinkshoe' technology developed by VectraSense Technologies of the USA.

Through sensors in the sole of the shoe, measurements are made and data is collected that can predict the gait of the wearer. Based on this information, cushioning is adjusted by a valve system built into the shoe. When the wearer is resting, the shoe is said to be almost as comfortable as a slipper. When walking, cushioning is provided and when running the cushioning firms up still further.

Meanwhile, for sweet smelling footwear, Texon Ezee Feet is a new technology for injecting substances such as a fragrance, anti-bacterial or anti-fungal agents into footwear soles. A gas canister is inserted into a non-return valve in the side of the shoe heel from where the injected contents travel through channels into the shoe and are dispersed throughout the interior of the footwear.