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Adidas 3D Runner printed sneaker midsole Futurecraft 333 retail
Manufacturing, Shoes

Adidas Begins Selling Its First 3D Printed Sneaker: The 3D Runner

December 14, 2016

Adidas 3D Runner printed sneaker midsole Futurecraft 333 retail

Adidas has been eying the use of 3D printing technology in its sneakers for some time. Last Fall the footwear maker debuted a 3D printed concept shoe called Futurecraft 3D. The midsole was printed using a latticework technique that allowed the shoe to be firm when standing and cushiony when running. Furthermore, the midsole could be customized for your foot shape, pressure points, and impact pattern. Over a year later, Adidas is finally bringing to market its first 3D printed shoe. While Adidas hasn’t yet reached the customizable future it envisioned, the shoe is still exciting and marks an important first step for the company towards the future of footwear manufacturing. The new shoes, called 3D Runner, are available in a stunning, completely matte black design. The upper is crafted using the company’s 3D knitted Primeknit technology (also used on Ultra Boosts and Yeezys) while the midsole is completely 3D printed. The shoes look amazing, but don’t count on getting your hands on a pair.  

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by Doug Parker
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Under Armour Architech 3D Printed Midsole Sneakers
Manufacturing, Shoes, Sports

Under Armour Releases Limited Edition 3D Printed Sneaker

March 18, 2016

Under Armour Launches Architech 3D Printed Midsole Sneakers

When Adidas showed off a prototype 3D printed shoe last year we were very excited to see such a giant leap forward in 3D printing, manufacturing, and sneaker design. What we didn’t realize was that within months there would be a slew of other shoe manufacturers jumping into the 3D printing “ring.” We have seen a second 3D printed sneaker from Adidas, have release plans from New Balance for a pair of kicks with printed midsoles, and even witnessed a successful Kickstarter for a fully 3D knitted shoe. Now we can add one more company to the list. Under Armour just announced a sneaker with a 3D printed midsole. The shoe, called UA Architech go on sale today for $300 through the company’s website and at their company store in Baltimore. The catch…Under Armour only produced 96 pairs. Like other sneakers with 3D printed midsoles, the design is based on a lattice structure. To ensure the pattern of their lattice design achieved the best possible balance of support, cushioning, flexibility, and energy return, the Under Armour used Autodesk’s Within software. Within takes a set of goal perimeters and then automatically generates the optimal 3D printing design. The result is a shoe which Under Armour claims has the “ultimate stability and cushioning.”  

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by Doug Parker
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Adidas Parley For The Oceans 3D Printed Sneaker Ocean Plastic Gillnet
Environment, Shoes

3D Printed Adidas Sneaker Made From Even More Ocean Trash

December 9, 2015

Adidas Parley For The Oceans 3D Printed Sneaker Ocean Plastic Gillnet

While there have been some amazing advancements with technology and sneakers this year, we think that Adidas’ partnership with Parley For The Oceans is one of the most exciting! Earlier this year the companies unveiled the Adidas x Parley sneaker in front of the U.N. General Assembly. The entire upper of the sneaker was constructed of recycled ocean plastic and seized deep-sea gillnets (if you haven’t read the story of how Parley obtained the 45 miles of gillnet for the prototype, it is incredible). While the sneaker shown was only a prototype, Adidas announced that they were working with Parley to make the Adidas x Parley a consumer product. The idea was great, with every sneaker purchased you helped the oceans to be cleaner.

But Adidas and Parley For The Oceans clearly thought they could do better. The two companies used the COP21 conference to unveiled the next step in their eco-friendly sneakers. The new sneakers continue to feature an upper constructed from recycled ocean plastic but have added a new midsole. Adidas and Parley designed a 3D printed midsole that consists of recycled polyester and gillnets. The result is a sneaker that is almost entirely made from ocean waste. While there is no timeline to bring the sneakers to market, Adidas and Parley continue to state that is the ultimate plan.  

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by Doug Parker
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RESHAPE 15 SPONGESUIT Bikini
Environment

Ingenious Swimsuit Absorbs Pollution As You Swim

October 13, 2015

RESHAPE 15 SPONGESUIT Bikini

Wearable technology has the potential to do so much more than keep us updated to when someone likes our latest selfie. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it could do something to improve the earth around us? Part of the RESHAPE 15 wearable tech competition, a team out of the US won first place their concept that does just that. Called SpongeSuit, it is a swimsuit that utilizes 3D printing and a special nano-scale material to absorb pollutants in the water as you swim. Imagine if everybody who went swimming in an ocean, lake, or river was cleaning the water!

The designers behind the project view their swimwear as both environmentally proactive and economically sustainable. It is constructed of two parts. First is a 3D printed elasto plastic exterior shell. This is easily created and requires very little material. The second part is a nano-scale super-hydrophobic carbon material, called the Sponge. Basically this means the Sponge features different shapes and sizes of microscopic pores which allow it to separate and retain contaminants, while not absorbing water. In fact, the material is so porous, it can absorb up to 25 times its weight in contaminants. The first thing that crossed our mind when reading about the SpongeSuit was, “We don’t want that stuff getting on us!” Well, good news;  

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by Doug Parker
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Adidas Futurecraft 3D Printed Running Sneaker
Shoes

Adidas Shows Off Running Shoe Made With 3D Printing

October 8, 2015

Adidas Futurecraft 3D Printed Running Sneaker

Adidas is no stranger to pushing the limits to finding new ways to construct their shoes. We were crazy about their Adidas x Parley sneakers revealed this summer. The upper of the sneaker was constructed from salvaged ocean garbage, including seized illegal gillnets (as incredible as the shoes were, the story of how the gillnets were acquired was stunning!). Adidas is at it again, pushing the needle of innovation in the shoe industry. The company just unveiled the Futurecraft 3D running shoe. The entire midsole (the cushiony part of the shoe between the your foot and the ground) is 3D printed. Adidas has created a way to 3D print the midsole so that the shoe is firm when standing but just squishy enough to protect your joints when running. Furthermore, the design allows for the midsole to be customized to your foot, crafted to take into account your foot shape, pressure points, and impact pattern. The company envisions that one day you will walk into an Adidas store, run on a treadmill for a few minutes, and then the perfect, custom running shoe will be instantly created for you.

While the Futurecraft 3D running shoe is currently only a prototype, Adidas believes strongly in the concept and views it is a statement of intent. According to Paul Gaudio, Adidas’ creative director, the company is focused on “driving material and process innovation, bringing the familiar into the future.” With that approach, we expect to continue to see more compelling ideas emerge from Adidas and are excited to see which of them make it to market. Additionally, it is great to see the company not only focused on innovation, but also on new technologies that help eliminate some of environmental harm the fashion industry is responsible for. Head past the break for a video that shoes the creation process:  

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by Doug Parker
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Fashion Tech Path Mainstream Culture Adoption
Fashion

Fashion Tech’s Path To Mainstream Culture

September 4, 2015

Wearable Tech

While we couldn’t make the trek across the Atlantic for yesterday’s Interlaced 2015 runway show and discussions, it is a great opportunity to look at fashion tech and contemplate what the future might hold. Theoretically fashion tech has so much potential, but currently it feels nonexistent in our daily lives. Besides enhanced textiles, there are very few fashion tech items being sold to the public. Part of that is a technology and cost issue, but it also is a perception issue, and that is changing.

The past 12 months have been huge for wearable technology. Up until now, most devices have been $150 or less and were extremely specialized in functionality. With the release of a slew of Android Wear devices and the Apple Watch consumers are beginning to become more comfortable with wearing technology and paying a premium for it. A smartwatch is really the first piece of personal technology that is on display. A phone is thrown into your pocket, but a watch is in plain sight constantly. There is no discrete way to use it, once you raise your wrist to look at the time or interact with it, it is obvious you are using a smart watch. From personal experience,  

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by Doug Parker
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Environment

Company Looks To Build Smog Vacuum One Ring At A Time

August 10, 2015

Smog Free Tower Cube Ring

Imagine Los Angeles without an orangey layer of haze or Beijing with crystal clear air; according to Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde, the Smog Free Tower is the first step to getting there. The Tower is basically a giant vacuum that behaves in much the way an air purifier does. His vision calls for these machines to be located throughout metropolitan areas basically scrubbing the air.

Currently on Kickstarter, Roosegaarde is looking to fund the 1st such Tower mainly through the sale of jewelry made from smog. Looking towards a world where there is no such thing as waste, Roosegaarde made the connection that most of the solid material in smog is carbon and, as such, is perfect for creating jewelry (think: diamonds). His company, Studio Roosegaarde, designed beautiful acrylic cubes of compressed smog. Through the campaign you can purchase the hauntingly attractive 8.4mm cube by itself or mounted to a ring or cufflinks. The smog in each cube is representative of the carbon content of 1,000m3 of air.

We love the concept of compact machines scrubbing manmade elements from the air. I think Roosegaarde is on the right path, but I think it would be even more beneficial if, instead of large machines placed around a city, the devices were smaller and could be mounted on thousands of rooftops. The real genius of the campaign, though, is the use of waste from the machine to fund new machines. There is something beautiful in the cyclical nature of that. Hopefully, with Roosegaarde being a designer, he does not get bored with the concept and continues to see it though!

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by Doug Parker
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