3D printing is moving further into everyday footwear.
adidas has officially unveiled Futurecool, a new lifestyle sneaker that uses advanced additive manufacturing to create a striking, seamless structure designed around airflow, comfort and futuristic styling.
Unlike earlier 3D-printed footwear where additive manufacturing might be most visible in the midsole, adidas says Futurecool is manufactured as a single, seamless 3D-printed structure using resin and specialized materials.
And you won’t have to wait until 2027 to see the first pairs in the wild.
A limited release begins August 28, 2026.
From Experimental Technology to Wearable Product
3D-printed shoes aren’t new to adidas.
The company has spent years experimenting with additive manufacturing and previously introduced its 3D-printed Climacool platform.
Futurecool represents the next evolution of that work.
Instead of making 3D printing merely a visual feature, adidas is using the manufacturing process to influence the entire architecture of the sneaker.
The result is a shoe covered in an intricate open structure that looks unlike conventional textile footwear.
360° Airflow
The most obvious feature of Futurecool is all those openings.
They’re not there simply to make the shoe look futuristic.
Futurecool is designed around 360-degree ventilation, allowing air to circulate around the foot.
That open geometry is combined with lightweight construction intended to create a cooler, more breathable experience.
👟 OPEN STRUCTURE
⬇️
💨 AIR CIRCULATION
⬇️
❄️ BREATHABILITY
⬇️
🚶 EVERYDAY COMFORT
The architecture becomes part of the shoe’s function.
Printed as One Seamless Structure
Conventional sneakers can contain numerous pieces that must be cut, shaped, stitched, glued and assembled.
Futurecool takes a very different manufacturing approach.
adidas says the sneaker is produced as a single seamless 3D-printed structure.
The process combines resin with specialized materials to balance characteristics such as durability, flexibility and comfort.
The seamless construction is also designed to adapt naturally around the foot, creating what adidas describes as a second-skin feel.
A Sneaker Designed Digitally
This is where additive manufacturing becomes especially interesting.
Traditional footwear design has to account for the limitations of conventional manufacturing processes.
3D printing gives designers a different set of rules.
Complex curves, open lattice-like geometries and continuously changing structures can be incorporated directly into the digital model.
💻 DIGITAL DESIGN
⬇️
🧠 ENGINEERED GEOMETRY
⬇️
🖨️ ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
⬇️
👟 WEARABLE PRODUCT
The manufacturing technology isn’t simply producing the design.
It helps make the design possible.
Not a Running Shoe
Despite its technical appearance, Futurecool isn’t being positioned as a new elite racing shoe.
adidas describes it as a lifestyle silhouette inspired by the company’s performance expertise.
Its technical focus is on lightweight comfort, adaptive fit and breathability rather than competitive running performance.
That’s an important distinction.
This isn’t simply another performance shoe with a 3D-printed component.
It’s an attempt to bring additive manufacturing into everyday sneaker culture.
Only 400 Pairs at First
Futurecool will initially be extremely limited.
adidas plans to release just:
400 INDIVIDUALLY NUMBERED PAIRS
The early pairs will be offered through a raffle on the CONFIRMED app beginning August 28, 2026.
That gives a small number of consumers access months before the wider release.
Worldwide Launch: April 2027
Everyone else will have to wait a little longer.
Futurecool is scheduled for worldwide release on:
APRIL 1, 2027
The announced price is:
€180
with unisex sizing planned from UK 4 through UK 14.
From Printing Components to Printing the Shoe
Perhaps the bigger story isn’t simply the unusual appearance.
It’s how additive manufacturing’s role in footwear continues to evolve.
For years, the most recognizable 3D-printed sneaker technology was a printed midsole attached to a conventionally manufactured upper.
Futurecool pushes toward a different idea:
MAKE THE PRINTED STRUCTURE THE SHOE.
That changes what designers can do with geometry, ventilation and fit.
And more importantly for additive manufacturing, it shows 3D printing moving beyond prototypes and limited engineering experiments toward a consumer product intended for broader retail availability.
The question is no longer:
“Can we 3D print a shoe?”
We’re beginning to ask:
“WHAT SHOULD A SHOE LOOK LIKE WHEN 3D PRINTING IS PART OF ITS DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING?”
Futurecool gives us one possible answer.
3DnMe — PRINT THE FUTURE
