StarStep pointe shoes on pointe, with pink butterfly clips at the heel

StarStep

Safe steps for future stars. A beginner pointe shoe for young ballet students.

Design engineering principles: Footwear innovation project, Imperial College London, 2025. My first design project, from research through to CAD, branding and validation.

FULL REPORT: take a look at the whole process (PDF)

Current pointe shoes are not designed for children.

When I was younger, I took ballet lessons for almost eight years. I loved performing on stage but I mostly remember how painful it was for my feet when using pointe shoes. All of the body weight is concentrated on the ends of your toes!

This can cause bruised nails, blisters, bone deformation... The shoe do not adapt to your movement, which leads to repeated impact on the platform and a high risk of metatarsal stress fractures. That is concerning for children and young dancers just starting pointe, who have fragile feet.

Beginner dancers face elevated risk of injury and discomfort because the shoes do not support fragile growing feet or ensure safe alignment during early training.

400 N

load per shoe for a 40 kg dancer, with a safety factor of two for impact

5 cm²

is the toe platform that load lands on

11

the average age a girl starts pointe work

The question

How might we design pointe shoes for young ballet students that reduce stress related injuries while preserving aesthetic qualities?

The design

A beginner-specific pointe shoe featuring soft magnetic flaps that fasten around the ankle, a medical grade silicone gel inner pad, a large TPU outsole and decorative soft clips for customisation.

Annotated render of the finished StarStep shoe showing magnetic flaps, foam lining, gel inner pad, TPU outsole and decorative clips
Design drawings of the shoe showing the fastening, outsole ridges, inner pad and interchangeable decorative pieces
Developing one idea: the fastening, the outsole, the inner padding and the interchangeable decorative pieces.

How the design meets what users need

Each feature came out of the requirements and specifications, where every option had to answer a problem the research had surfaced.

A fastening a child can do alone The soft magnetic flaps lower the risk of cutting off circulation, are easy to fasten, remove the risk of tripping on a loose ribbon, and will not create additional pressure at a knot.
Comfort and shock absorption A medical grade gel insole that focuses on the toes and the heel, where the most friction and pain usually occurs. It is removable for easy cleaning.
Breathable and stretchy fabric Reduces moisture buildup and blisters, and is elastic enough to be comfortable without being too soft, accommodating feet that swell during training.
Clip-ons that stay on while dancing A thin flexible flap slides under the fabric overlap with a low profile magnet. Very secure while still being removable, and it will not pop on a relevé or a jump.
Stability and grip A large outsole for balance, with texture and ridges for grip when dancing. Thermoplastic polyurethane is more suitable than TPE, since it has higher durability and structural strength.
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The story it is built around

A first pointe fitting should feel magical. The storyboard follows a young dancer from that moment, through the fear of the injuries the shoes can cause, to an easy, safe transition onto pointe.

Storyboard following a young dancer from her first pointe fitting through injury worry to dancing in StarStep shoes