UK-based footwear brand Vivobarefoot has unveiled the Tabi Gen 02, the second iteration of its scan-to-print barefoot sandal, developed in partnership with Carbon and manufactured by Oechsler. Lighter and more precise than its predecessor, the Gen 02 is custom-printed for each wearer using Carbon’s Digital Light Synthesis process and CARBON BL6 PU foam.
Available in moonrock grey at £110, it can currently be ordered through three Vivobarefoot scan locations in London, Bristol, and Prague.
From 590 Pairs to a Platform
The Tabi Gen 02 builds directly on the lessons of Gen 01, which Vivobarefoot launched last year through its VivoBiome platform. That first release was deliberately small, just 590 pairs, produced using SLS technology after customers visited in-store stations to have their feet scanned. The split-toe sandal, priced at £140, was less a commercial launch than a proof of concept: evidence that a scan-to-print, zero-stock production model could work at the retail level.
Gen 02 takes that foundation and refines it. The shift from SLS to Carbon’s DLS process brings improved material precision, a lighter overall construction, each sandal weighs approximately 91 grams, and an ultra-thin 2mm sole engineered for maximum ground feedback. The split-toe design and ergonomic flex zones are retained, now with tighter tolerances from the Volumental foot scan that generates each wearer’s custom blueprint.
The Barefoot Argument, Made Structural
Vivobarefoot’s core position has always been that conventional footwear does more harm than good. The company points to data suggesting 77% of people develop some form of foot problem, a consequence, it argues, of rigid, cushioned shoes that restrict natural movement and weaken the intrinsic muscles of the foot. The Tabi line is the purest expression of its counter-thesis: a shoe shaped entirely to the individual foot, with no standard sizing, no excess material, and no compromise on fit.
By integrating Carbon’s distributed print network, Vivobarefoot is also advancing a made-to-order, low-waste production model that eliminates inventory entirely, printing only what is needed, when it is needed, as close to the customer as the network allows.
Vivobarefoot frames this openly as a journey rather than a finished product, one that improves with each release and each pair of feet that moves through the system.
The Push Toward Truly Personalized Footwear
The Tabi Gen 02 is part of a growing movement in 3D printed footwear where the goal is no longer just a better-looking shoe, but one built around the individual foot. Indianapolis-based Fitasy developed a scan-to-print system that uses a smartphone to capture precise foot geometry, generating a custom fit profile that drives the print, with consumer orders expected to begin in Spring 2026 and a triple-layer lattice structure designed to conform to each foot’s contours and distribute impact forces.
In performance footwear, German startup HEZO takes the same principle into cycling, using a smartphone app to capture around 1,000 data points per foot and producing each pair individually in Germany after the order is placed, with no inventory, targeting riders with asymmetrical feet or pressure-related discomfort that standard sizing cannot address.
Elsewhere, Lubrizol and Lore Cycle use 3D scans to fabricate custom cycling shoes with a 3D printed TPU upper shaped to each customer’s unique foot, with models starting at $1,349, positioning precision fit as a premium offering. Taken together, these efforts point to the same conclusion Vivobarefoot has built its platform around: standard sizing is a compromise, and 3D printing is the most credible path to eliminating it.
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Featured image shows Vivobarefoot Launches Tabi Gen 02. Photo via Vivobarefoot.
