The Rowe: How Charles Johnson Brought Supercar Aesthetics and Social Purpose to Sustainable Footwear

When footwear designer Charles Johnson set out to create The Rowe, he drew inspiration from an unlikely source: the aerodynamic profile of the Nissan Hyperforce, an all-electric Japanese supercar. The result is a moulded shoe that brings sharp posture and considered style to a category long defined by pure utility — a concept Johnson calls “updressing.” That ambition has been recognised with three wins at the 2026 Africa International Design Awards, including the top title of Fashion Design of the Year, alongside wins in the Footwear and Sustainable Fashion categories.

The shoe is manufactured by World Shoe Limited at a pioneering facility in Akosombo, Ghana — built from the ground up in twelve months — and has already created 200 local jobs while directing sales profits towards regional health interventions. Made from a compression-moulded foam with an organic additive to accelerate biodegradation, and incorporating a natural antimicrobial powder derived from discarded oyster shells, The Rowe is as considered in its materials as in its form. In this interview, Johnson talks about the automotive inspiration behind the shoe, the decision to manufacture in Ghana, and what it means for the design world when Africa sits on the judging panel.

Becoming a footwear designer was somewhat accidental. That is to say, it was not planned. At Carnegie Mellon University, where I studied design, we were surrounded by cutting-edge technology – computer science, robotics, AI, before it was called AI. And so it was more likely that after school, I would have headed to Silicon Valley to design computer housings or printers. But I made my way to a design conference and showed my portfolio to the Design Director at Saucony. I always liked sports, and I really like sports equipment, so when he offered me a job, I took it. But even then, I didn’t really know I would have a career as a footwear designer. I just thought sports and design, I’m in!

In the first World Shoe, I had designed a shoe that we loved internally, and by all measures, outsiders loved too. It was designed specifically for humanitarian purposes – to protect feet from disease – but I also designed it to embody important functional and stylistic cues from the sports industry and from sneaker culture. The idea was to take the design beyond a so-called “charity shoe” to one that would be attractive to young people – one that they would want to wear.

When it came to designing The Rowe, I had a different kind of freedom. As a brand, we decided that we could take a step towards a consumer who was interested in fashion and style. It’s true we wanted something that would be accepted in the healthcare space, where clogs were the standard. But even the choices for that consumer were not the most attractive choices; rather, they were practical ones. When I sat down to design the shoe, I drew from an experience I had two years prior when I was invited to Nissan Motors Headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, as part of a cadre of international designers from across the globe to take part in a review of new models, concept cars and interiors planned for upcoming release. 

For starters, I have always admired Japanese design for its beautiful balance of traditional and the avant-garde and the attention given to detail. It is a deep source of inspiration. At the Nissan design review, there was one car that I was particularly struck by – The Hyperforce, an all-electric, high-performance supercar. What struck me was its aerodynamic profile and the surface changes that were defined by crisp, recessed channels. It was sporty and sophisticated at once. I felt it was the perfect formula to bring newness to the molded shoe world. I called it “updressing.”- a counter to the casual trend brought on by the pandemic, where comfort took precedence over style. The Rowe was designed not only to be extremely comfortable but also stylish, proving that a shoe can be both a retreat for the feet and a statement piece.

The qualities start with our patent-pending foam material, which includes an anti-microbial agent that fights infection and a biodegradation accelerant that makes microbes want to eat it faster. It was independently tested by a world-class laboratory, which determined it had all the important qualities that one would want in a shoe – great cushioning, durability, shape retention, flexibility – all of it. It tested above average. After that, I designed into it ventilation grooves and what I call a “hybrid heel” – a clog-like feel with a shoe-like heel.

That is a really important question because it gets at our “Why”. From the start, our mission was not only to break the cycle of poverty by making people healthy but also to create opportunities to continue their journey toward prosperity. Creating jobs, we decided, is the way to do that. The emergence of the World Shoe as a brand is, in fact, deeply rooted in Africa. Our founder is from Nigeria, and we have roots in Ghana. Manufacturing in-country was always a part of the plan. I remember being in Ghana scouting out potential factory locations. One year later, we opened the factory. The speed at which we achieved this important step is unheard of in the footwear industry!

It is incredibly rewarding. Of all the things I imagined for myself as a designer, being recognized for work that is connected to the continent where I was born was not one of them. I grew up outside of Africa and away from African culture. But for me, this represents an important connection to my own roots. But what is especially profound to me – “what African design looks like when Africa does the judging.”

Why do you think a platform like AIDA Awards is important now for African fashion design and for projects that connect creativity with wider social change?

What I think is most important is delivering design that is rooted in Africa to the international stage and doing so on your terms. There is a stigma that is often attached to design grounded in Africa – that it is one-dimensional and often connected only to philanthropy. AIDA proves that design rooted in Africa can take on numerous challenges and can do so while being innovative at the same time. Fashion as innovation.

The truth is, I am not hopeful, but rather I am confident. I see footwear as a flywheel that can do so much good beyond putting shoes on feet. Who would have thought that the design of a shoe could build a factory, teach people good hygiene, inspire young students to pursue a career in product design, engineering and manufacturing and seed the idea of a design academy? The World Shoe has inspired the development of all of these things. There is more to come!