Power and Purpose
Designer Elle AyoubZadeh begins every creation with a story, not a sketch. For her, a shoe’s lore is not just inspiration but justification, the reason it deserves to exist.
For the Lore sneaker, that story was rooted in strength, intention, and man’s mastery over his world. Then she discovered the Tailrace Tunnel, a 2200 feet long tunnel hewn from solid rock 200 feet below ground. It was a revelation.
Walking it for the first time, AyoubZadeh felt the willpower etched into its walls in an era of horse and Nikola Tesla, when vision and muscle collided to shape the impossible.
Within this setting, the Zvelle Man is purposeful and powerful. That essence lives in Lore’s construction: a completely stitch-free sneaker that cannot be assembled conventionally, only sculpted by hand.
AyoubZadeh and photographer Daniel Harrison were granted rare access to restricted areas to capture images never before seen.
The campaign opens with a filmic descent, 200 feet down, into the beginning of the story.
