GETTY IMAGES / THE AURACLES
Chris Brown is set to launch his second 3D printed Nami slide this weekend.
According to The Auracles, the creative agency created by Brown and fashion entrepreneur John Dean, the latest drop sees the Nami 2.0 slide available in a Deep Sea Black colorway that’s set to release on Sept. 30.
Designed in collaboration with Nos Ailes, a footwear design studio in New Jersey, the Grammy Award winner’s latest slide is made with a unique blend of EVA foam, known as Nami Wave Foam, that shapes to a wearer’s foot. The style features architectural inspired 3D ridges along the entire slide as well as a wavey imprint in the footbed and embossed Nami insignia on the bottom of the shoe.
“The Nami are wavey! Literally and figuratively,” Dean told FN in an interview. “The slides represent the wave that a lot of young creatives create but don’t get to profit and benefit off of.”
The environment was also in mind when creating the slides. The Nami 2.0 is completely biodegradable as well under the right humidity and temperatures. This slide, under the right circumstances, will biodegrade in three years or less, Dean noted.
“The goal for us is to create something that not only is aesthetically beautiful but also create something that lessens our global footprint,” Dean said. “We wanted to show our commitment to top tier design and practical fashion with this Nami release.”
Asked why they chose to use a 3D printing method to produce the slides, Dean said that he truly believes 3D printing is the future of footwear. “Less waste, no upfront cost,” he said. “It allows young designers like us to tear a design without having to buy molds and materials. It’s also a way for the small designers to participate in a typically big corporation run industry.”
Brown and Dean launched the first Nami slide in May with the help of 3D-printed footwear company Zellerfeld. While the duo no longer works with Zellerfeld, Dean did acknowledge that their first release sold out in three hours and was the biggest launch in the 3D printed shoe company’s history at the time.
“The reaction to our first release has been overwhelming,” Dean said. “We know the Nami slide had great potential, but we didn’t know it would be so massive.”
The latest Nami slide, which retails for $95, will be available exclusively at Theauracles.xyz on Sept. 30 at 9am PST.
