Nike has created the first 3D-printed textile upper in performance footwear for athlete Eluid Kipchoge ahead of the London Marathon.
Designed and driven by Kipchoge’s feedback following last year’s Berlin Marathon, the new upper improves the VaporFly Elite shoe, built to ditch water and increase airflow for long runs and makes it 11g lighter than Kipchoge's original pair.
Produced through solid deposit modeling (SDM), the Nike Flyprint uppers are developed through a process whereby a TPU filament is unwound from a coil, melted and laid down in layers.
Nike used computational design tools to determine the ideal composition of the shoe by capturing athlete data and prototyping enabled the brand to manufacture the sneakers 16 times quicker than previous methods.
Nike says one benefit of 3D textiles over traditional 2D fabrics is the increased dynamism made possible by adding an interconnection beyond a warp and weft.
A limited amount of the trainers will be sold in London through the Nike App during the London marathon weekend on 22nd April 2018.