The layer between a shoe's insole and outsole, often used for cushioning or support.
A midsole is a layer between the insole and the outsole. Tricker’s covers the cork filling of its Goodyear-welted shoes with a leather midsole for protection. Paraboot’s glossary, which calls it a spacer, describes a layer of rubber or leather inserted between insole and outsole in sewn shoes and sewn to the welt. In other constructions the midsole is caught in the seams: Meermin’s Norwegian construction stitches the upper to the insole and midsole before a further seam goes through the outsole, and Cheaney’s Veldtschoen stitch runs through the upper, the welt, the midsole and the outsole.
In athletic shoes the word describes a different part. ASICS defines the midsole of a running shoe as a layer of spongy material between the outsole and the upper, combining bounce and durability. The same word thus covers a leather or rubber layer in a sewn shoe and the spongy cushioning layer of a running shoe.
In job listings
Midsoles rarely appear by name in listings. Sole components come up in footwear product development, where developers and interns work with sole and heel makers on prototypes and samples, and in technical design roles that read and adjust construction blueprints. See current footwear product roles.
