Hilos Launches On-Demand Footwear Production Platform at Art Basel
Hilos is bringing its revolutionary footwear 3D printing technology to the industry at large with the launch of a new platform.
On Thursday at Art Basel Miami Beach, the Portland, Ore.-based company debuted Hilos Studio in a partnership with fashion house Unknown Union. The label will be the first to release designs created with the technology, which allows independent designers and brands to develop footwear on demand.
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According to Hilos, on-demand production is key to facilitating a high-mix, low-volume supply chain, allowing creators to conceptualize a variety of styles without investing significant resources on inventory. Instead, orders and consumer interest dictate production runs, limiting up-front investment and ultimately mitigating waste.
With the new platform, Hilos is expanding beyond its expertise in women’s fashion footwear into technical outdoor shoes, luxury styles and a range of categories that will serve brands across the board. Founded in 2019 as a footwear brand, Hilos quickly realized that its proprietary technology and localized production infrastructure had applications beyond its own creations. Hilos combines the outsole, midsole and insole of a shoe into a single unit, capturing the comfort, support and grip of each component in one 3D-printable piece. The process slashes the material roster for a pair of shoes, which can contain dozens of components, and enhances production efficiency. It also allows for greater personalization when it comes to style and sizing.
“3D printing is shaping the future of craft with unprecedented levels of customization, enabling intricate and complex designs that traditional methods struggle to achieve,” Hilos said in a statement. “Unknown Union’s sandal, The Twelve, became the wildest articulation of this ongoing exploration for us, wrapping leather over 3D parts while allowing for cut-aways to expose complete logo walls, texture stories, and the story within.”
There are environmental reasons to turn to on-demand production, too. Last year, the company conducted a study with Yale University and supply chain partners like chemical producer BASF, Hewlett Packard and the Association for Manufacturing Technology that showed that Hilos’ software and production methods produce half the emissions of conventional footwear-making processes, and reduce water use by 99 percent.
The rollout of the Hilos Studio platform leverages the backing and expertise of industry experts, from Jonathan Cheung, a former Levi’s designer, to Eric Sprunk, former chief operating officer at Nike, who joined the Hilos board this year, along with Greg Bui, Nike vice president of global manufacturing for footwear, and James Carnes, former vice president of strategy and innovation at Adidas. Creative direction was managed by Alex Valdman, former creative director at Allbirds, and Cooper Gill, former creative director at Arc’teryx. Christopher Morency, once chief brand officer at Vanguards, led market strategy.
In March, Hilos raised $5 million to fine-tune product development and secure new brand partnerships. Sprunk, Bui, venture firm XRC Labs, Better Ventures and Builders VC invested in the company, bringing its total funding to $7.1 million.
