Meet the Creatives series - Ludovic Malmoux

In this series, we’ll take you behind the scenes to meet the talented individuals whose creativity, passion, and hard work shape what we do. Each post will highlight a different member of our team, offering a glimpse into their unique roles, inspirations, and what drives them. Join us as we celebrate the people who bring our vision to life—one creative at a time.

Q: What inspired you to start designing shoes?
My father was an architect, and hence, as a kid, I wanted to be one too—but not building houses, building buildings. Anyway, that was when I was young. I started my career as an industrial designer, aka product design, designing everything from cell phones to train interiors. It wasn’t until the late nineties, when I moved to France with my family to work with Salomon, that I designed the first Salomon trail running shoe, marking the beginning of my footwear design career.

Q: What does the 'e' in VIBAe stand for to you, and how do those values influence your designs?
Beyond the “e" for “FCKN everything,” as we conceptualized with Minna, Kalle, Tammy, and I during our illustrious trip around Finland, the “e” is our mantra. It represents our core values as a brand: ergonomic, eco-friendly, ethically made—and it differentiates us from this oversaturated landscape of brands. In fact, it is so important in every facet of decision-making we carry out daily that we designed it into our logo and turned it into a mark! Or, as we spell out on our Carbon Step footbed: A new standard in ergonomics.

Q: Can you walk us through your design process? What’s the first thing you consider when designing a new pair of shoes?
The first thought is: Do we need another shoe? All our styles are intended to be core in our collection and live for as long as demand exists—not built around seasons and as far away from fast fashion as possible. With that said, we’re all into fashion and design, and pretty much all of our designs have come from our personal needs, remembering that footwear is an accessory to our everyday wardrobe—and not the other way around.

Q: VIBAe shoes are known for their comfort. What elements of the design make them so unique and comfortable for customers?
As Kalle would say, VIBAe shoes sell themselves—just put them on your feet! The Carbonstep antimicrobial footbed provides the ideal cushion and support while following the contour of your feet: arch support, heel cupping, and toe grip, all in a neutral position. Being neutral is important because this is the way we are born and is best for our anatomy and body movement. We have also completely re-engineered the shoe-making process by eliminating all the unnecessary backing materials that make most shoes feel like cardboard! Materials are obviously extremely important to achieve this naked feeling, which we often refer to as gloves for our feet. And guess what? The toe box of our shoes also follows the shape of our feet! How novel is that?

Q: How do you ensure your shoes are both stylish and functional?
The “e” in VIBAe is our checklist for functionality. If all the boxes are not ticked, then the brief has not been achieved yet and must go back to the drawing board. As for style—well, we just know what’s up :)

Q: Where do you find inspiration for your collections? Are there specific people, places, or experiences that influence your designs?
The entire VIBAe team lives and breathes to the beat of our brand—or perhaps the brand beats to our beat :) We blend our personal everyday experiences into our work. We all love traveling with a passion, experiencing new cultures, landscapes, and—did I mention—we like to eat! We actually make it part of our yearly routine to all be at the factory together during our ideation meetings, and then take off for a week somewhere new. Hence, you’ll notice all our shoes have city names from around the world, and our intention is to make sure the shoes look and feel like that city.

Q: Is there a shoe style or trend you’re particularly excited about right now, or one that you’d like to see more of in the future?
Slow fashion is the trend. There has been way too much waste in our consumer TikTok-driven society—the fear of missing out! And with that, more people are looking to simplify, seeking quality over quantity and comfort. VIBAe is in the perfect place at the perfect time: the modern hippie, if I may say so. Many of our customers come into our stores wearing Birks and walk out with VIBAe. 

Q: What do you want people to feel when they wear your shoes?
You asked about the little “e” earlier, but did you know VIBA means good vibes in Finnish? That’s who we are, and that’s exactly what we want our customers to feel when they step into VIBAe shoes. 

Q: What’s the most rewarding feedback you've received from a customer?
We’re a small team at VIBAe with our eight flagship stores, in which we work almost daily. Hence, we have the advantage of spending a lot of time with our customers. We listen to their fascinating stories from different walks of life, we talk about their feet problems, and you may even get a foot rub by our CEO Kalle if you’re in the Helsinki flagship! But the common thread is the smile they wear after slipping into VIBAe. The best gift that never stops giving.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge you've faced as a designer, and how have you overcome it?
To start with, I’ve never considered being a designer a job. It’s one of those professions that makes you feel like you’re working on a passion project every day—and that’s how I’ve felt most of my career. Sure, there were years, being the creative director of a notable athletic brand, where designing by committee started bugging me, but I found the easy fix: start my own brand with a handful of besties! 

Q: As a shoe designer, how do you stay ahead of the curve in such a fast-paced industry?
It may feel fast to many, but when you’ve been riding that wave for 20-plus years, the feeling is more that it’s moving a lot slower than you think. I love that feeling of spending time talking with our shoe factories, the leather tanneries, our footbed factory—all places that stimulate conversations, ideas, and always produce innovative solutions to our quest to make the most comfortable shoes. Being part of the industry and taking your time to listen to those that work in it is enough to know where we need to be. You see what I mean about being a shoe designer! Doesn’t feel like work! 

Q: If you weren’t designing shoes, what would you be doing instead?
Aside from traveling, snowboarding, surfing, mountain bike riding, and hanging out with my homies, I’d be designing something else! To give you an example: we needed a fire pit for our home a few years back, and so I designed and fabricated one. It cost about the same as buying one, and this one fits our place like it was meant to. I guess when you’re a designer, you just never stop.

Q: If your shoes could talk, what would they say about the journey they’ve been on?
In the last five years, my Helsinki would ask me why I ditched them for the Jtree, and the Jtree would ask why they got ditched for the Roma, and so on. It’s a seasonal thing, and they should get used to it because this journey is far from an end. 

Q: What’s next for VIBAe? Are there any exciting projects or collections coming soon that you can share?
So many come to mind, and you’ll just have to wait until they present themselves. But one that sticks out and is ready to share is our involvement with the OSAKA 2025 World Expo in Japan, which starts this coming April for six months. We are the official footwear partner to the Nordic Pavilion, comprising all the cultural goodness that comes out of Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Iceland. This means all the staff will be wearing VIBAe’s good vibes and… wait… paired with Finnish icon Marimekko! Wow! Could this be any better?!

Cheers, and see you there!