5 Pairs of 3D Printed Shoes You'll See at Milan Design Week 2015

United Nude and 3D Systems are back at it, designing sometimes exotic, sometimes terrifying, always 3D printed shoes for Milan Design Week 2015.  At the epic design festival, the partners are hosting an architectural shoe exhibition, titled “Re-Inventing Shoes”, featuring five leading architects and designers, including: Ben van Berkel, Fernando Romero, Michael Young, Ross Lovegrove and Zaha Hadid.

All shoes are 3D printed in nylon for the rigid portions, via 3D Systems’ selective laser sintering, and flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) for the parts of the shoes that must be more flexible, likely using 3DS’ ProJet systems.

My wife, Danielle, pointed out that van Berkel’s “Unx2” look as though they’re heavily inspired by Alexander McQueen’s “Armadillo” heels.

And, though I preferred Ross Lovegrove’s “Ilabo”, the only pair she liked were Zaha Hadid’s “Flames”, as they were the only shoes she would wear if she were a drag queen and she appreciated that they didn’t have a distinctly 3D printed look.

If you’ll be at Milan Design Week, like our own Davide Sher, you’ll be able to see the exhibit at Teatro Arsenale, Via C. Correnti 11 in the 5vie Art + Design quarter, until April 19. Otherwise, you may be able to purchase one of the 50 limited edition pairs that will be sold by United Nude.

For more pics of these fascinating works of footwear architecture, visit designboom.