World-Famous Architects Design Stunning 3D-Printed Shoes

Though it might not seem like it, architecture and fashion can go hand in hand. United Nude envisions this with a stunning collection of shoes that are produced using 3D printing. The company teamed up with 3D Systems to create these accessories, which are designed by five of the world's greatest living architects: Ben van Berkel, Fernando Romero, Michael Young, Ross Lovegrove and Zaha Hadid.

The collaboration culminated in an exhibition called Re-Inventing Shoes and presented during Milan Design Week 2015. Each pair of shoes has its own distinct aesthetic and pushes the boundaries of what footwear can be. Sometimes, they even resemble more of a sculpture than a shoe. Young's creation titled Young Shoe uses an intricate lattice pattern that camouflages the foot when worn, and Romero's Ammonite resembles a fossil.

While these shoes are only concepts right now, they offer an intriguing look at how 3D printing can foster innovative fashion that you need to see to believe.

Ammonite by Fernando Romero

UNX2 by Ben van Berkel / Unstudio

Young Shoe by Michael Young

Ilabo by Ross Lovegrove

Flames by Zaha Hadid

United Nude website
3D Systems website
via [designboom and The Coolist]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled "Embroidered Life" that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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