In shoe making a last is the tool used to substitute the human foot. From their conception as a made- to measure tool they have, with the development of industrial production, become standardized, to allow for serial production. The last is an essential tool, which is necessary to produce footwear and is at the same time bound to a certain style and function. Each time the shape becomes shorter, longer, higher, wider; the last needs to be substituted for a new one, each shape, height, size requires it’s own pair of physical lasts to allow for production.
Lasts are a fundamental resource. They imply an immense investment not only monetary but also in terms of material (waste) and storage. Once a shape is taken out of the range of the maker’s collection it becomes a resource without use.
The possibility to achieve different shapes with one body of last, makes room for changing shapes because of aesthetic/fashionable considerations as well as for customization and personalization and therefore a step between norms and out of the norm.