Shoe Designer at La Sportiva · Product developerAntwerp · Northern Italy

Designing for
real life.

I’m Janne, a Belgian product designer working between Antwerp and Italy. My full-time role is in shoe design at La Sportiva in northern Italy.

Selected work
Janne Waes in the Dolomites, where she currently works as a shoe designer
Current practice · Dolomites, northern Italy
TodayShoe Designer

La Sportiva

Designing close to the terrain.

At La Sportiva in northern Italy, my full-time work revolves around technical footwear. Living close to the mountains gives that work an everyday context; Antwerp remains part of my wider design practice.

Current practice La Sportiva
Selected work2025—2026
Footwear / Independent concept2025

Technical footwear concept

A job interview became an opportunity to explore trail footwear through sketches, form and function.

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Product development / Foldable mobility2023

ONAK Kajak

A foldable kayak shaped with Jeffrey De Weerdt through prototypes and water tests, then presented with ONAK in Berlin.

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Master thesis / Product-service systems2023

This is not a drill

My master thesis became an open toolkit for designing products and services meant to be shared.

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HEMA finalist · Vote open2026

Licht bij?

A finalist among ten HEMA designs. Explore Licht bij? and find clear instructions for voting on the project page.

See the project and how to vote
Circular design / Participatory workshop2023

Recup Racecar

Workshop offcuts become a race car children can build, personalise and race. Developed during my time at Buurman Antwerpen.

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Design approachResearch into reality

From a question
to something you can hold.

01

First, understand how a product is used, shared and valued.

02

Sketch, prototype, test. The form has to earn its place.

03

Look beyond the object to its system, lifetime and impact.

Sketching in motionJaneDoesDSGN on TikTok
Janne Waes sketching a technical footwear concept by handJanne Waes studying the form of a game controller through sketchingWatch tutorials
Draw. Explain. Share.

Design thinking,
one line at a time.

A sketch is a way to think out loud. On TikTok, I share quick product studies and exercises in perspective and form, with the process visible.

144.9Kpeople follow
the process
Explore design tutorials

Public TikTok profile · August 2026

About
Janne Waes in her design workspace
At my workbench

Shoes, objects, systems.
Always the people using them.

Antwerp is home; northern Italy is where my full-time role takes place. What connects the two is a curiosity about technical footwear, everyday objects and the systems that shape how we use them.

After studying Product Development at the University of Antwerp, I joined La Sportiva as a full-time Shoe Designer in northern Italy.

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