Zellerfeld Footwear are taking tech and fashion to new levels with their new 3D-printed shoes that are custom made to your feet and your feet only. Get your feet out people, this tech breakthrough has chosen violence as the fashion industry gets disrupted.
This new footwear concept could be the future of sneakers, and it means that you never had to worry about the size of your shoes again, because every pair is custom-made for your feet. That is the wild promise, anyway.
The Zellerfeld 3D-printed sneaker lets you order a pair of shoes without ever telling them your shoe size. All it takes is to download the app, choose what colour and style you want, scan your feet using your front camera, hit “buy” and then wait for delivery.
This company has big, big financial backers. According to their website, Tesla, SpaceX, and PayPal are all invested. Elon Musk and his baby Mama even got a pair for their son X Æ A-12.
Why 3D printing is theoretically less wasteful
One of the biggest problems with the whole fashion industry is that of waste — offcuts, unsold items, fast-fashion being of poor quality and having a short lifespan. It’s even claimed that the shoe industry is responsible for 22 billion pairs of shoes being thrown into landfill annually.
Zellerfeld takes a different approach. By 3D-printing custom-made shoes, there isn’t the usual waste associated with offcuts. Unsold pairs of shoes sitting in warehouses don’t exist. They only make shoes to order and, theoretically, every pair of shoes shoes fits its buyer perfectly. That’s not all. The company claims that every pair of shoes is 100% recyclable. Consumers simply return them to the manufacturer and they can be broken down and made into a new pair of shoes.
You can also throw these shoes into the washing machine like you would a pair of socks. Because there’s no stitching, glue, or multiple materials, there are no weak points, so theoretically, they promise to be very durable.
Zellerfeld philosophy
3D printing of shoes isn’t new. What is new is the philosophy behind their manufacture. There will be no need for overseas factories and cheap labour, because the 3D printer does all the hard work.
Another interesting part of the 3D-printed shoe sales model is that, theoretically, individual creators can sell their own designs. Kanye West, he of the now-dead Yeezys line and various antisemitic outbursts, has previously created his own pair of boots for a YZY fashion show via Zellerfeld.
In an ideal world, this kind of technology allows smaller less-established designers to bring their designs to life, without having to go through the rigmarole of making prototypes, finding a manufacturer, shipping stock to buyers, and warehousing excess stock.
It also allows for some more risky designs, as they are one-offs. A quick scroll through the Zellerfeld website is a mind-blow in terms of futuristic-looking footwear.
Not everyone is a fan however, with some people saying the shoes gave them “prison vibes.”
Others said they looked like lollies, while it was also suggested that they are just futuristic Crocs.
Fashion has long been merging with tech, and this is an exciting idea that may spread into other custom-fit fashion, like clothing and accessories. We humans at The Chainsaw certainly welcome our new 3D robotic overlords.
