Custom 3D printed footwear firm FITASY Inc is enabling customers to purchase individual shoes directly via its website.
Aimed at individuals who require only a left or a right shoe, such as those who use prosthetics, the "single-shoe" option is sold at exactly half the price of a pair.
The initiative, FITASY says, combines spatial AI, advanced imaging, and additive manufacturing to challenge the 'standard-size model that has remained largely unchanged since the 1800s.'
Since the footwear industry is built around the mass production of pairs, selling a single shoe has not always been commercially viable for manufacturers. In recent times, some retailers have begun to offer in-store single-shoe purchases, but these typically rely on splitting existing pairs and absorbing the cost of the discarded half. FITASY believes it is the first custom-fit 3D printed footwear brand to make single shoe orders commercially viable, 'bypassing the inefficiencies and excess inventory of traditional production lines.'
The process will begin with a smartphone scan that helps to create a 360-degree biometric profile via the Fitasy app, before the shoe is printed to the exact morphology of the foot without specialised tooling or inventory overhead.
"We are moving toward a future where 'standard sizes' will become obsolete," said Yujun Wang, CEO and Co-Founder of FITASY. "Offering single-shoe purchases is a proof of concept for a scalable technology that accounts for the true diversity of human feet, one of the most complex mechanical structures of the human body. We believe the future of footwear is personalised and therefore inherently inclusive. With emerging technologies like ours, it is finally possible to do this at scale."
FITASY's one-shoe purchase option has been inspired and supported by Stef Reid, MBE, a World Champion and Paralympian track-and-field athlete who has challenged the footwear industry for years through her "one-shoe campaign".
"Innovations, like Fitasy's 3D printing and foot-scanning technology, show what's really possible when footwear is designed around real people with real needs, not just the average customer," added Reid. "What's not to like about shoes that are made to fit - and made just for me? I'm excited to see how this radically new way of making shoes can push inclusive and personalised design forward."
