Two designer brands, Dior and Botter (the latter in collaboration with Reebok and HP), featured 3D printed shoes at Paris Fashion Week, one of the world’s most important fashion events. It’s far from the first time 3D printed footwear has been featured at the event. During its last running in 2022, the Zellerfeld-produced YZY boot was featured. [Paris Fashion Week Made Us Want Some 3D Printed Dior ...- all3dp.com]
Dior’s shoes interested us, in particular, as footwear that look a little more practical than other examples of 3D printed footwear we’ve seen on runways. Fortunately, the brand shared a video detailing the design and production process, which appears to show the shoe 3D printed with a powder bed fusion process (LPBF), [where a laser fuses the first layer or first cross section of the model. A new layer of powder is spread across the previous layer using a roller. Further layers or cross sections are fused and added. The process repeats until the entire model is created].
“Beyond the visual aspect,” Dior says in its video, “what interested us here is that, once the tongue has been unstitched and the undersoles and laces have been removed, 80% of the material can be entirely reused for other purposes. It’s a circular approach. It’s continuous. It’s virtuous!”
While fashion week showcases aren’t likely to start appearing on store shelves, the inclusion of 3D printed apparel in fashion weeks around the world with increasing regularity may be indicative of the progress 3D printing is making in mainstream, end-use applications. The footwear industry, in particular, has been leveraging additive manufacturing to produce custom and affordable footwear for some time. Adidas is notable here, having retailed shoes with 3D printed soles for years now – most recently the Ultra 4D which sold for $220 on release.
For more information on Dior’s shoe, see its Instagram. Likewise for Botter’s collaboration.
