Among the biggest names helping our arches is Wiivv, founded in 2014 by CEO Shamil Hargovan and Louis-Victor Jadavji and making waves ever since. The company has been collecting investors with several successful funding rounds, won the Inside 3D Printing Startup Competition at Santa Clara 2014, and not only brought its custom 3D printed insoles to market through a campaign that met success on Kickstarter, but broke crowdfunding records while doing so. Continuing on into 2017, Wiivv hasn’t slowed down at all, just last month announcing an additional $4 million funding round and acquisition. Today, the company has launched its second Kickstarter campaign, introducing the Wiivv Custom Fit Sandal.
Wiivv’s co-founder and CEO filled 3DPrint.com in on his thoughts running up to today’s launch, explaining:
“We began with a Custom Fit 3D Printed Insole to help what keeps us supported all day: our feet. Our next product idea, a custom fit sandal, came because our customers were asking for it. Sandals are a summer staple. But traditional flip flops are really bad for our biomechanics. They often hurt our feet and you can’t wear them all day,” Hargovan tells us.
“Wiivv’s sandals are the first footwear in the world to be custom fit to your unique feet. They are digitally mapped using our award-winning app from your smartphone, and 3D printed at our facility in San Diego. Our sandals aren’t just comfortable and personalized. They’re biomechanically designed to eliminate over-pronation, toe scrunch and foot fatigue without compromising style. We’re passionate believers in being the first to bring the highest-quality, truly functional and uncompromisingly stylish 3D printed custom products to people at an affordable price.”
Wiivv recognizes that every foot is different, and uses a biomechanical design methodology to create unique footwear — after digitally mapping more than 200 points on each foot to ensure that perfect fit. I recently tried out the Wiivv app — available on Android and iOS — and it truly is as easy as they say to create this map of your own foot. In less than five minutes, and with some excellent hallway acrobatics, if I do say so myself, I had taken photos of my feet on a standard piece of computer paper from above and from the side to capture the arch, with the app talking me through each step (and scolding me when my phone wasn’t upright enough propped against the wall). The process was reminiscent of what I went through last year when scanning my feet for a custom-fit pair of shoes from Feetz, but then there really are only so many was to use a smartphone to scan a foot. I’ll be reporting back soon once my custom insoles arrive in the near future. I again do not have a sample-sized foot (if I wore a size 7 shoe at 6’1″ I’d likely fall over), so sample-sized writer Clare also used the app to scan her feet and will soon be taking a sample pair of custom Wiivv sandals for a test walk.
The Wiivv Custom Fit Sandal is intended to replace those one-size-fits-all flip flops so ubiquitous today, as the team straightforwardly notes:
“Traditional flat flip flops are really bad for us. That’s no secret. So we said, f*ck that. Let’s design a sandal that not only looks good, it actually supports your body’s biomechanics throughout the day.”
“After the success of our insoles, Kickstarter backers started requesting a sandal. Flip flops are part of our summer uniform, yet traditional models are detrimental to foot biomechanics. The general market wasn’t addressing this issue, so we decided to tackle it head on,” said Jadavji.
- Custom arch support
- Provides optimal comfort for feet by distributing weight
- Custom strap placement
- Size and arch measurements keep feet in place and provide support while walking
- Deep heel cup
- Stabilizes the heel and absorbs shock with each step
- Custom toe-thong placement
- Reduces annoying rubbing, pinching and chafing
- Toe grip
- Specially engineered to provide extra metatarsal support
- Sustainable
- 100% recyclable, flexible, high density foam that forms to each foot
- Interchangeable & adjustable straps
- Provide style and comfort versatility for any occasion
- Personalized looks
- 8 strap designs, and five arch colors to match any taste
Wiivv has really been feeling the love from backers who believe in what they’re bringing to feet everywhere.
“Big footwear brands still don’t grasp the fact that 14 billion unique feet need 14 billion unique solutions. In an industry dominated by mass produced products, and offshore supply chains, we’re proud to offer one-off custom products at scale,” said Hargovan.