Shoe by IAMBIC
IAMBIC
When it comes to fashion, there are shoes that look good, but they might hurt your feet. If you continue to wear shoes that are bad for your feet, there are repercussions, from calluses to blisters and more.
One new company that is trying to save our feet is called IAMBIC (pronounced eye-AM-bik). The brand’s co-founders Maeve Wang and Raza Hassan have teamed up to bring the Executive Experience, a white sneaker that is custom made to fit your feet.
Backed by a grant from the National Science Foundation, IAMBIC dares to step outside standard shoe sizing. According to Wang, one in every four people don’t fit standard shoes, causing pain, injuries and deformities. “We are making an AI-driven precision fit sneaker because we’re interested in making footwear innovative,” she said. “The footwear industry is leaving out one in every four people who don’t fit the standard sizing system.”
IAMBIC co-founders Raza Hassan (left) and Maeve Wang (right) in their New York City office.
IAMBIC
According to their research, shoes only really fit 33% of people. And for roughly 40% of people, they fit tolerably. “From our research and other academic publications, many people’s feet deviate from standard shoe sizing,” said Wang. “People are suffering in pain. It doesn’t just lead to pain but permanent injuries and deformities. People notice when it’s too late. It happens over time.”
So, IAMBIC aims to be a preventive shoe, in that it’s one people feel good in, and can become their go to, “so they hopefully never have to get to that place,” she said.
Shoes by IAMBIC, created from the Executive Experience.
Guests book an appointment with IAMBIC and visit their headquarters in New York City. Upon arrival, guests take off their shoes and socks and prop one foot up onto a block, which is then 3D scanned for a full 360 of your foot. After your second foot is scanned, each guest is interviewed about their shoe history, their personal preference, previous shoe problems and lifestyle.
It takes anywhere from four to eight weeks after this meeting for their shoe mock-up to be made. This is when the client returns to the IAMBIC office in New York to try them on and make adjustments, offering feedback through this second, in-person session.
Roughly four to eight weeks after the second meeting, the final IAMBIC custom-fit sneaker is delivered.
Shoes by IAMBIC
IAMBIC
“We want to create the most compelling shoe company of our generation,” said Hassan. “There are diverse needs of the population, and we want to understand them better than anyone else. Mass produced, fast fashion shoes are limited, technically.”
In the coming year, IAMBIC plans on creating an app so it’s easy for people to scan their feet with their smartphone, to help create their own custom shoe. “We received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop this AI-based technology for the masses,” he adds. “The mission is to popularize science in the community, and provide that to people.”
A pair of custom shoes made by IAMBIC
IAMBIC
Their system is creating sizeless shoes that fit only you. “We are using up to 20 variables that go beyond the length and width of the feet,” said Hassan. “The whole 3D profile of your foot, and comfort preferences, are taken into consideration. We still want to maintain that art of shoemaking, but we are combining it with science and technology, as well as with new data. So, it’s a new approach.”
IAMBIC encourages their customers to reach out to them offering feedback a month or year later after wearing their shoes. “We want to know what has changed in their life and how it affects the sole design,” said Hassan. “It’s a walking profile, a lifestyle profile. Your sole print is the soul of your walking.”
It isn’t orthopedic, however. “We’re more foundational for footwear, preventative, where people need to seek that medical care,” said Wang. “It’s a preventative lens on foot health.”
Custom shoes by IAMBIC
IAMBIC
