Kristiyan Hristov is an emerging designer in the field of 3D printed shoes. With support from the Shoe Quarter, he is working on a project that explores the use of biomimicry to reimagine the way shoes are designed and made.Â
The climate is changing rapidly. Our bodies must adapt to a faster pace to cope with unpredictable changes in our environment. Kristiyan thoroughly researches how animals use specialized body parts and biological structures to adapt to their environment. He focused on animal legs, which come in many different forms and are equipped with an impressive array of highly specialized adaptations, such as a gecko's ability to grip. Their functional and aesthetic properties were adapted to the human foot through a process he calls "rapid simulated evolution."Â
After modeling numerous possible foot variations in a VR environment, he 3D-printed the most successful adaptations with a flexible material. A collection of shoe adaptations was developed that proposes a methodology that can help us meet the standards of future environments.
