SAP R/3 may not address your requirement in an efficient way, SAP has industry specific solution called AFS for footwear and apparel industries in which the material attributes (characteristics) such as style, color, size, and width are dealt with in a more efficient manner.
You can read about it below:
http://scn.sap.com/thread/1121013
http://www.sap.com/india/pdf/AFS_Asset_latest_version.pdf
If you have no choice but to use R/3, you may either create separate material numbers or use batch management.
