Dior’s 3D-Printed Shoes Are The Future

Dior didn’t need a blockbuster collaboration to drive home their tour de force collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Taking place at the Place de la Concorde, Kim Jones paid homage to Yves Saint Laurent’s brief stint at the fashion house in the late 1950s, the elegant collection replete with voluminous silhouettes and sartorial linchpins from Dior’s archive – including an elongated smock inspired by a marine ensemble.

Elevated by an elegiac reading of T.S Eliot’s 1923 poem The Waste Land by Robert Pattinson and Gwendoline Christie, Kim Jones turned down the aesthetic volume of a week filled with extravagant shows and high-profile collaborations. For Jones, it was all about a deep reverence and reinterpretation of Dior’s storied history.

Boxy trousers and pleated skirts also served to emphasise Dior’s latest technological venture into footwear: 3D printing. Manufactured in a complex, printed weave, the Derby shoe and boot were Dior’s first crack at making a one-piece 3D printed shoe. And by all accounts, they nailed it. Arriving in a clean black matte finish, the Derby utilised glossy black leather tongues and quicklace togglefashio fastening – a first for the atelier.

No doubt a light and approachable option for more traditional sneakerheads, Dior’s latest foray into 3D printing may very well broaden the scope of formalwear moving forward – forget those stiff patent leather dress shoes!

For more on Paris Fashion Week, make sure to check out our complete recap, right here.