To get to the other side, part of Why did the chicken cross the road?
Although in some cultures chicken feet are considered food, in much of the western part of the world they seem to be disgusting, and consequently a waste product.
The final shape Abate chosen for this project was inspired by a KFC advertisement, which reads: “Welcome to chicken town [...] welcome to the Wild West...” - making a clear reference to an era and a place where the law of the strongest made the difference between victims and executioners. In fact, the cowboy boot is marked by a strong symbolism, not far from the idea of violence and oppression. Through comparative advertising, KFC declares war on the 'imitators' fried chicken producers, with the same violence that characterized the old west, but with other tools.
The name of the project is the response to the English word pun 'Why did the chicken cross the road?', and the name of the entire Abate's project on chicken. The chicken crossed the road to get to the other side. The other side in turn has a double meaning: it can refer to the other side of the road, as well as to the afterlife.
Making process
For the development of this project, Abate skinned more than one thousand chicken feet in over five years of research. For each individual paw, the skin was removed with the aid of a scalpel; then cleaned with a scraper to remove residual grease, and finally left to cure in black tea. The tea activated the tanning process, and coloured the small pieces of skin, in shades of colour from brown to black.
The boots has being realized in 2022, thanks to Alessandro Zannoni, Shoe Designer currently teaching at IUAV Moda, Venice.
Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.
Ingredients
Chicken feet leather, black tea
Credits
Alessandro Zannoni Shoe Designer