Combining technology with fashion, a luxury footwear brand called Ica & Kostika launches luxury 3D printed Exobiology shoe collection inspired by nature, the shoes are shaped and designed to “comfortably fit the natural form of the foot”.
Ica & Kostika co-founder Ica Paru said that 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.
The ‘Exobiology’ collection is comprised of four distinct shoe designs. Said to be an exploration on “the future of life and fashion in the universe”, the shoes are named as Seahorse, Coral, Mycelium and Spine.
For making the shoes, the firm 3D printed them with Nylon 12 and finished them with an automotive grade electroplating. The result was lightweight, durable and long-lasting shoes.
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.
According to the firm, only a handful number of shoes will be made with the prices available on request. To order a pair, the wearer would have to download an app and scan or take 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.
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.