Tailored footwear is necessary for rock climbers to have optimal contact with the wall. Currently, climbers acquire a tailored fit by breaking in shoes, a process of squeezing their feet into shoes often four sizes too small. Moulding the shoes to their feet causes pain and discomfort and also causes foot deformities.
'Parametric Tailoring' is a product-service system that manipulates 3D scans of users' feet using recorded biometrics on how their feet move dynamically. The system then builds the shoe around these manipulated scans and output the shoe manufacture plan. The process is entirely automated meaning both the cost and the lag time from order to delivery are reduced, two major sticking points of current handmade tailored climbing footwear.
A collaborative project with The North Face
Process Photos
