A luxury footwear brand called Ica & Kostika has launched a 3D printed shoe collection designed to “comfortably fit the natural form of the foot”.
Said to be an exploration on “the future of life and fashion in the universe”, the collection titled Exobiology is comprised of four distinct shoe designs.
“This collection is a celebration of the natural systems that create beautiful intricacies and how we can go beyond nature to create a form engineered to our desires, something otherworldly,” said Ica & Kostika co-founder Ica Paru.
The Mycelium Shoes inspired by the radical growth of mycelial branching from mushrooms are designed in a wedge, heel, and extreme heelless style.
Inspired by the branching of a sea fan, the Coral shoes are designed with three variations of a branching structure.
Designed to resemble the skeletal structure of a seahorse, the Seahorse shoes have segments that gradually change and are available in 3 unique geometric forms with a range of materials and hand-painted finishes.
Finally, the Spine shoes “manipulate the vertebrae of the spine to create a continuous form along the foot” and are available in three finishes of silver, white, and black chrome.
The shoe collection is 3D printed with Nylon 12 and finished with an automotive grade electroplating. Those who purchase the shoes will be required to download an app in order to upload pictures of their feet. An algorithm will then create a 3D sketch of the foot to 3D print a custom fit shoe.
“Humans have been creators since the dawn of time — it is our very nature – and we want our art to embody our evolutionary story from our past to our future,” said Ica & Kostika. “Fusing the latest in 3D printing and data capturing technologies, we created not just a shoe, but a story of continuity and innovation, and this is our first step.”
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