3DP has brought about an era of customization. In the past we were living in a world where things were made in a standard format. The classic example of the drawbacks of the standardization can be seen in the healthcare industry. Whenever a person wanted a prosthetic body part he had to chip off the extra bones so that the prosthetic could fit in properly. This process of adjusting according to the object of necessity has become a phenomenon of the past. With the help of 3DP technology this adjusting habit of mankind has been brought to rest. Another such similar example is creation of customized shoes in which the wearer can always be comfortable!
There are several big brands such as Nike, Feetz and United Nude which are making custom made shoes with the help of this technology. The unique feature of the shoes that are provided by United Nude is that the shoes are 3D printed right in front of the customer whereas in some cases as with Feetz the shoe is first printed then shipped to the customer. Apart from big companies, small fashion houses such as Continuuum Fashion recently launched a new shoe line named Myth which is a collection of high heeled shoes designed by Mary Huang. The usage of 3D printing in the fashion industry is growing by the day.
The most exciting feature of this is that each shoe is tailored according to the unique feature of each person feet. Most of the people have feet which are not identical so finding a shoe that perfectly fits both the feet is quite a rare phenomenon. This is exactly where 3DP technology comes handy!
With that said, majority of the shoes that are manufactured today are done in the traditional method of mass production but very soon the perks of owning a customized 3D printed shoe will spread throughout the world like wild fire!