Window Loafer
Recyclable Footwear
3d printed in flexible polyurethane, a spool of material transforms into ready to wear shoes in just 24 hours. The shoes are designed to ride the line between dress shoe, sports shoe, and sandal. They recently walked the runway in a fashion show at the DuSable Museum, presented by Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and curated by artists Nick and Jack Cave.
A hole in the market
Single-material shoes have been a growing segment in the shoe market, typically as sneakers or sandals. While other designs rely on intricacy to get their desired look, Window Loafers show the true potential, offering a new elegant silhouette that is pared back to the essentials: a sturdy sole and a swooping curve linked together in an infinite loop.
The Window Loafer‘s design intends a creative style opportunity. The shaped opening in the sides allows for infinite possibilities of socks of any color and pattern to be seen.
Process.
My shoes are unique in their printing technology. My mission was to use FDM extruded TPU as the shoe’s material. Over the course of five months, I have worked to perfect the results that come from a standard FDM printer using flexible material. The goal was to develop settings that could be fine-tuned for both my shoe and all TPU settings.
Design
The idea for my shoes started as a wish for a universal shape, one that had the presence of a dress shoe and the practicality of a slip-on sneaker, with a durable rubber construction. I began by creating curves inspired by a combination of Church’s Oslo and the Nike Vapor Street. The large cutouts are quite functional as they provide a level of added flex and breathability.
Once the basic shape was digitally sculpted, 3d scans were taken of my own feet to get a baseline for user testing. I happen to be sample size 9.5. Once the shoe was drawn in the computer, I could try it on digitally before printing even began. This gave me a jumpstart in finding the right fit and is a technique to create bespoke shoes for any foot’s curvature in the future.
As printing began, I focused on the final and most important variable, gravity. I created many iterations, editing my settings slightly each time, with limited variables. The goal: to find the perfect material density needed to offer a balance of squish for comfort, but firmness for structural integrity.
Sharing my research with the material creators at Ninjatek, they decided to work with me, assisting to perfect the printing performance of their Cheetah TPU filament and a materials grant for the project.
