Straight from the printer: how a student has reinvented trainers

This is a story about a young entrepreneur who didn’t start out in a garage or lab, but in his student room in halls. And it’s a story that began with an obsession: “I love shoes,” says Cornelius Schmitt, founder of the successful new Zellerfeld brand. Around ten years ago, in his early twenties, he built his first 3D printers himself and wrote the software to run them. His aim was to turn a seemingly crazy idea into reality: to make fully 3D-printed trainers. “It was simply a bit of a hobby for me when I was a student,” explains Schmitt  

Though this might sound a bit nerdy, it led to the creation of the Zellerfeld brand - named after the small German town of Clausthal-Zellerfeld in Lower Saxony where Schmitt was at uni. Schmitt noticed on social media that designers were experimenting with innovative forms and silhouettes - in a much more daring way than the big brands were. He made them a pragmatic offer: “You give me your design, I’ll print it for you free of charge, but in return I also get to use it.” The idea had a ripple effect, with one design following another. 

From experiment to designer platform  

Today, customers can choose from more than 1,000 models - ranging from extravagant to classic designs. And they are highly popular, even among celebrity sneaker enthusiasts: former basketball star Shaquille O’Neal ordered dozens of pairs in size 60, while the pop star Justin Bieber, the rapper Drake and the musician Will.i.am are also big fans of Zellerfeld.  

The secret lies in the technology: each shoe, rather than being made of 30 materials, is printed using just a single plastic thread, whose structure is “woven” either more densely or more loosely, depending on what is needed. The result is supposed to feel more like a textile and less like plastic - the inspiration being “granny’s woollen socks”, explains Schmitt. And how long does it take from design to market launch? A process that normally takes up to 24 months is radically shortened here to just 24 hours. 

High demand 

The high demand is forcing Zellerfeld to upscale its operations. The company already has more than 200 3D printers in Hamburg, and Schmitt has set up a second production facility in Austin, Texas. Soon, the costs of producing the trainers are set to fall to 10 to 20 euros per shoe. “Suddenly anyone can make a shoe. And that’s also the energy we want to inject into the industry,” says Schmitt. This is no longer just the vision of a solo entrepreneur - the company now has over one hundred employees. What is more, Schmitt sees collaborations - such as with Nike to produce the first multicolour 3D prints - as “another breakthrough and milestone”. (with dpa)