Silver Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design · 2026
Fortex Work Boot
- A' Design Award 2026 Silver Winner in Safety Clothing and Personal Protective Equipment Design
- Awarded April 15, 2026
- CLIENT: Royer
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 19,208
- Verification code 337690EF8A · Verify this award
About Fortex Work Boot
Fortex is a waterproof safety boot engineered for high risk industrial environments involving chemical exposure, impact hazards, and mechanical stress. Its innovation is a chemical co molding process that bonds thermoplastic polyurethane components to an injected polyurethane base, forming a unified structure without adhesives. Integrated elements include a metatarsal guard, lateral ankle protection, and a reinforced heel counter. The design provides resistance to water, chemicals, hydrocarbons, puncture, and slipping, while remaining lightweight, ergonomic, and thermally efficient.
Francis Lacroix's Fortex Work Boot emerges from a distinguished tradition of protective footwear design that balances uncompromising functional requirements with considered aesthetic refinement. This work boot represents a synthesis of engineering precision and design sensibility, where every formal element serves both protective purpose and visual coherence. The composition presents the boot in three-quarter profile, a conventional but highly effective orientation that reveals the complex interplay of protective systems: the substantial shaft provides comprehensive lower leg coverage, while articulated ankle reinforcements suggest carefully considered zones of flexibility and protection. The chromatic program demonstrates sophisticated restraint, employing a near-monochromatic palette of blacks and grays that connotes professional seriousness, punctuated by a single vermillion accent line that introduces visual energy without compromising the object's authoritative presence. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless integration of multiple material zones, from the smooth upper shaft to the geometrically articulated ankle panels to the aggressively treaded sole, each transition handled with evident precision. The certification markings, rather than disrupting the visual composition, function as badges of authenticity that reinforce the boot's professional credentials. This design participates in a broader conversation about the aestheticization of protective equipment, demonstrating that safety-oriented design need not sacrifice visual refinement. The work invites consideration of how functional objects communicate trustworthiness through form, and how design choices shape the wearer's relationship with their protective equipment. Viewers might contemplate how this synthesis of protection and presence reflects evolving expectations for professional gear that serves both body and identity.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Engineered to redefine industrial performance, this boot features a quad-density co-injection system fusing PU and TPU into one seamless chassis. Anatomically mapped zones deliver lightweight shock absorption and targeted protection at key impact areas. A rigid heel stabilizes the foot on uneven terrain, while specialized outsoles ensure grip in extreme conditions. Cement-free bonding forms a waterproof, monolithic structure built for lasting durability and safety.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Product Dimensions (1 boot, size 42): 310 mm x 120 mm x 400 mm (height)
Package: 510 mm x 355 mm x 140 mm - Tags
- Co-injected Footwear, TPU Reinforcement, Polyurethane Safety Boot, Cold Weather Protection, Ankle protection, Metatarsal Protection, Industrial Design, Injection Molding Innovation, Chemical Bonding, Work Boot
- Production Technology
- This safety boot is engineered through co-injection molding, chemically bonding high-density TPU reinforcement with a lightweight PU core to form a seamless, monolithic structure free from adhesives and delamination. Developed for sub-zero climates, the TPU formulation maintains elasticity at -40°C, ensuring impact resistance without brittleness. Precision tooling guarantees exact reinforcement placement, delivering targeted protection, thermal stability, and durability without added bulk.
- Design Challenge
- The principal challenge was achieving reliable co-molding between TPU and a PU base, ensuring sufficient bonding strength in the metatarsal insert located within the boot’s primary flex zone. This required rethinking rotary-injection machine & tooling: a system allowing a pre-molded TPU insert to seat in an articulated receiver moving in frontal-transverse planes before mold closure and PU injection. Constraints included production feasibility, material behavior, wearer comfort and international safety standard requirements.
- Project Duration
- Designing started in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada in Dec. 2023. Engineering started in Legnaro, Padova, Italy in September 2024 with GGS, an elite Italian mold-making partner lead by M. Roberto Gobbato.
- Operation Flow
- This safety boot functions as a flexible exoskeleton, flexing at the forefoot while stabilizing the heel. TPU reinforcements shield the metatarsal area and ankle from impact without limiting movement. Unlike cemented footwear, its PU and TPU components are co-injected and chemically fused into a single monolithic structure, eliminating delamination. Built for harsh industrial and cold environments, it delivers long-term durability, reliability, and consistent performance.
- Research
- This applied industrial research explored polymer chemistry and precision engineering to eliminate adhesion failure and cold embrittlement in safety footwear. Using iterative prototyping and destructive testing, high-density TPU was co-injected with a cellular PU core to form a monolithic structure. Hundreds of bonding and sub-zero wear tests led to a cement-free boot with permanent molecular fusion, zero delamination, and full CSA, ASTM, and EN/ISO compliance.
- Inspiration
- This project merges heritage craftsmanship with advanced material science, transforming traditional footwear into an integrated high-performance system with protection embedded in its structural DNA. Inspired by biological exoskeletons, it acts as both protective shell and load-bearing frame. Rib-cage inspired arch geometry in the metatarsal zone disperses impact while preserving flexibility, creating a biomimetic system balancing safety and ergonomic performance.
- Patents
- Protective Toecap & Puncture-resistant Sole
(CSA Z195-14) Certified grade 1 protective toecap that withstands impacts up to 125 joules and certified puncture-resistant sole that withstands at least 1200 Newtons (270pounds)
Electric-shock Protection
(CSA Z195-14) Certified electric-shock protection (18 kV / 60 Hz / 1 minute)
Metatarsal Protection
(CSA Z195-14) Certified metatarsal protection that can withstand impacts up to 101.7 joules
Protective Toecap Impact and Compression Resistance
(ASTM F2413-24) Certified protective toecap that can withstand an impact of 75 ft-lbf (~100 Nm) and a compression of 2500lbs (~1135KG).
Puncture-resistant Sole
(ASTM F2413-24) Certified puncture-resistant sole that can withstand a force load of 270 lbf (1200 N)
Metatarsal Protection
(ASTM F2413-24) Certified metatarsal protection that can withstand an impact of 75 ft-lbf (~100 Nm)
Electric Hazard Protection
(ASTM F2413-24) Certified electric-shock protection (18 kV/ 60 Hz / 1 minute)
Slip Resistant Sole
(ASTM F2413-24) Certified slip-resistant footwear with a coefficient of friction (CoF) of no less than 0.40 on dry and wet quarry tile