Georgia Primary Function: Inkweto z'Ibiganza Birebire

Press Kit

Unique Properties

The Georgia represents a new way to make shoes, one that reintroduces the nuance and complexity of the craft but at the scale of mass manufacturing. It leverages 3D-printing to celebrate, rather than obscure, the hand of the maker, while delivering a completely circular product that is 100% recyclable. 3D-printing can be used for end-use commercial production capable of reinventing entire product categories and our connection with how we make and buy.

Dimensions & Packaging

We're able to offer this product in a much wider range of sizes than our competitors due to the nature of on-demand 3D printing. Therefore, our dimensions vary between sizes. They start at 21.2 cm in length by 7cm in width for our size 4 narrow, and go up to 29.6cm length x 11.4cm wide for our size 14 wide.

Tags

footwear, high heels, fashion, fashion footwear, 3D printing, sustainable fashion, circularity, circular fashion, shoes, sustainable design

Production Technology

The Georgia would not have been possible to make just 12 months ago. It is made possible by new forms of computer-aided generative design and a material substrate that was only commercialized last year. In this way it embodies so much of the promise of additive manufacturing, generative design tools, and material innovation that is coming together to reinvent entire product categories and question established industries. Footwear construction has not been seriously questioned since the 1870s, and as a result it is one of the most wasteful and inefficient industries on the planet. Empowering designers with some of the powerful tools we used for the Georgia can change that.

Design Challenge

Many of the capabilities required to build the Georgia either did not exist yet or had never been connected to one another. This meant that collaboration as well as humility by all parties was critical for any such undertaking. Engineers had to learn from shoemakers, and both had to listen to industrial designers experienced in generative design, in order for everyone to come together around a common, and ultimately successful, approach.

Research

The most critical challenge when working with additive manufacturing is narrowing your focus from a seemingly limitless field of options. We initially focused on validating material options and assembly techniques, quickly determining that powder fusion printing afforded the range and quality required for footwear construction. We were able to learn from some of the most innovative footwear developers in the world and explore a variety of lasting techniques before identifying the current string lasting form as an ideal use case for 3D-printing. While refining this assembly mechanism we prototyped in several materials simultaneously and worked with multiple digital design software, including some custom development, to reach the current form and function. The end product drew from a diverse set of expertise, from generative design to foot biomechanics – it can truly be seen as an industry collaboration.

Inspiration

We believe that 3D printing can enable mass craft - bringing the nuance and complexity of custom shoemaking but at the scale of mass manufacturing. It can reinvent our everyday products, celebrate the hand of the local maker or craftsperson, and enable a completely circular approach even in an industry that hasn't changed much for the past two centuries.

Project Duration

The development of the Georgia began in September 2019 and was finished in January 2021. It was conducted by HILOS and its partners in Portland, OR and has since travelled around the world, making appearances from Paris to San Francisco.

Operation Flow

This is a high heel shoe that has the same material properties as sneakers. Its 3D printed platform is flexible and has a digital mesh cushion built in that is springy and supportive. Internal mechanisms allow the entire shoe to act as a spring, reducing wear across its lifetime. The use of geometry makes for a far more comfortable experience for the end-user when compared to other shoes in the same category. In addition, an accessible window on the underside of the shoe allows for complete disassembly of the upper from the platform and recyclability of all parts.

Patents

SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR LASTING AN UPPER TO A 3D PRINTED PLATFORM. Patent application #63/015,214. Applicant is HILOS, INC. Inventors are Eric Folsom, Gaia Giladi, Elias Stahl.

Image Credits

Image #1: Photographer Gaia Giladi, Georgia in Cognac, 2020. Image #2: Creator Rubyellen Bratcher, Woven Folk x HILOS, 2021. Image #3: Photographer Cole Becker, Hannah & Tucker, 2020. Image #4: Photographer Hannah Shea Grimmer, Bending Cognac Georgia, 2020. Image #5: Creator Kristine Claghorn, Georgia on Sheets, 2020. Video #1: Cinematography Cole Becker, Art Direction Hannah Shea Grimmer, How We Make Things Matters, 2020.