Couch Runner
Named after NW Couch Street in Portland, which I passed almost daily during the residency. Couch Runner explores an “ambiguous boundary” between dress and performance footwear, in an abstract yet artistic way.
Sarah Inyoung Park
Footwear design, concept creation, innovation
Seoul-based footwear designer making multiculturally inspired shoes on unusual shapes, with an emotional pull between craftsmanship and new technology.
Selected work
3D-printed mules
Lasts and soles modelled in Blender and printed in TPU. Sole patterns draw on the map of a Seoul apartment complex. Each mule tests a different hardness and infill for a different use.
Multicultural Footwear
A series of five pairs that trace my multicultural journey through the upper details. The larger aim was a manufacturing process that is more efficient and can be localised as much as possible.
Every component is covered, from last to upper to sole. Shoes are hand-assembled on 3D-printed lasts inspired by the hallux valgus (bunion), with Bananatex fabric and recycled leather uppers, and TPU-printed outsoles designed in Gravity Sketch from the initials of my name in Korean letters.
Traditional processChoose last and outsole, then repeated factory sampling rounds with many drop-outs and wasted material.
New systemDesign a new last, 3D scan and print it, make-to-order outsoles in two weeks, and in-house sampling before the factory.
Recognition
- Featured, Design Residency at HILOS Lab2026
- Stylist collaboration, Via il Prato Trainer2025
- Winner, Sportswear Design / Urban Sports, FIT Sport Design Awards2024
- Winner, 3D Printing / Sustainability, Global Footwear Awards2023
- Teapot shoe and profile, Virtual Shoe Museum2023
- Earl’s Court Trainer, Autre e-magazine2023
- Silver (Lady Santa) and Bronze (Tweedie), Global Footwear Awards2021
- Semi-finalist, Creative Industry, Mayor’s Entrepreneur Competition, London2021
Experience
- Jambu & Co, New York · Freelance Footwear Designer (Remote, Seoul)
Seasonal collections for Jambu, JBU and J-SPORT (Costco), using AI tools from concept to design. Sample development with the Dongguan, China team.Jul 2025 – Present - HILOS, Portland · Designer in Residence
First Summer Residency cohort. Designed and prototyped a final 3D-printed shoe with AI-generative tools.Jun – Aug 2026 - Orthogenix, Sydney · Freelance Footwear Designer (Remote, Seoul)
New range for a contemporary orthopaedic brand, from 3D-printed last to tooling. Sample development with the Jinjiang, China team.Oct 2025 – May 2026 - K2 Korea, Milan · Freelance Footwear Designer
Concept creation and 3D modelling for a 3D-printed footwear project, in collaboration with Affinity Space Design Studio.Aug – Dec 2024 - Fiallo, Milan · Footwear Design Intern
SS25 2D CAD, colourways and spec sheets; factory samples for Milan Fashion Week.Sep 2024 - SP Shoe Lab, Seoul · Freelance Footwear Designer
Blender 3D modelling, 3D printing and AI-generative design.Nov 2023 – May 2024 - Henry Beguelin, Milan · Freelance Footwear Designer (Seoul office)
Short-term contract at an Italian leather brand’s Seoul office: trend research, new style proposals and AI visualisations of hand drawings.Oct – Nov 2023 - Gyoureekim, London · Freelance Development Manager (Remote, Seoul)
Developed the first footwear line (mule and wedge pump) for a London-based Korean fashion start-up, from last and pattern to first samples with a Seoul factory.Jun 2023 - Greenbea Food, London · Part-time Graphic Designer
Designed awning layouts and logos for corporate sub-brands, and managed staff uniform design, sourcing and prototyping with local suppliers. Developed layouts for flyers, menus, takeaway boxes, business cards and stickers.Oct 2022 – Jan 2023 - Metrocity, Elnore, Skono, Hyungji Fashion, Seoul · Footwear Designer / Project Manager
Comfort, lifestyle and contemporary fashion footwear, from sampling to production with factories in Korea, China, Vietnam and Italy.2016 – 2020