They are starting the new school.
A 3D-printed shoe designed by artificial intelligence is hitting the market today, and the futuristic footwear is the first of its kind to be commercially available to the general public, its creators claim.
Syntilay chief executive Ben Weiss, 25, and Reebok co-founder Joe Foster, 89, who are partners in the high-tech venture, told USA Today that 70% of the custom shoe design — the which was designed to look like the bridge of a yacht — was created by AI technology.
“We think it’s going to be a big trend, likely for other types of fashion apparel products,” Weiss said of AI integration. “It’s a much more efficient way to design things.”
The design team took inspiration from spaceships and boats, Weiss told USA Today, and asked AI to incorporate the artwork of Syn Mead, the artist who worked on films like “Blade Runner” and “Aliens,” into the shoe’s design. The technology was also used to determine shade.
If they had used “traditional” design methods, Weiss noted, the slides “could have looked very different.”
The $149.99 slide — which comes in orange, red, beige, black and blue — is custom-fitted to the user’s foot. According to the site, the customer is required to scan their feet with the phone’s camera within two weeks of purchase, after which they will have to wait approximately three weeks for their kicks to arrive, individually printed at a factory in Germany.
“It went from the early stages of these concepts, generating the artwork, then we had our designer do a sketch based on that, which saves a lot of time because you know exactly where you want to be. The team then used AI to generate a 3D model from the sketch,” explained Weiss.
“It’s supposed to be the best fit you can get.”
According to USA Today, Syntilay relied on remote work to drive the popularity of their product, deciding to make slides first.
“People are wearing slides all over the country,” Weiss said, adding that the team wanted the shoes to “have this classy but really futuristic feel.”
“I think a lot of people will really enjoy wearing something that’s on the cutting edge of that.”
But Sneaker News Editor-in-Chief John Kim begs to differ.
He told USA Today that, while there is “a new short-term appeal” for AI in fashion, the larger community “ultimately appreciates the distinct human eye” in design. While some brands have incorporated artificial intelligence into their design processes, Kim noted that “a 100% AI-designed sneaker has limited potential because it lacks the human essence and brand DNA.”
Syntilay, however, is only producing the shoes in limited quantities because of “how expensive they are to make and just the limitations with typical 3D printing where we are today,” explained Weiss, who expects to produce just a few thousand pairs. .
“You’re not going to get volume, but you’re going to get history,” Foster said.
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Image Source : nypost.com