ica & kostika's 'exobiology' collection explores the future of digitally generated footwear

revolutionary footwear brand ica & kostika launches their first collection, entitled ‘exobiology.’ the series was developed as an investigation of the future of shoe design through the fusion of fashion and computational technology. the digitally generated, highly intricate shoes are characterized by their futuristic silhouettes. each shoe is meticulously crafted to fit the natural form of the foot. ica & kostika employ hybridized techniques to exploit the advantages of various industrial processes, including methods of both additive and subtractive fabrication. ica paru comments: ‘this collection is a celebration of the natural systems that create beautiful intricacies and how we can go beyond nature to create a form engineered to our desires, something otherworldly.’

all images courtesy of ica & kostika
coral heels

ica & kostika have generated four formal strategies in the development of the collection. in the design of the coral shoes, the studio utilized the branching logic of a sea fan, a method which covers a large surface area while remaining lightweight. the mycelium shoes are inspired by the radial growth of the mycelial branching from mushrooms. the seahorse shoes borrow the sculptural skeletal structure of a seahorse which expresses segments that gradually change in scale. the spine shoes manipulate the vertebrae of the spine to create a continuous form along the foot. each of these four styles within the series is produced in varying silhouettes or finishes.

coral wedges

coral wedges

mycelium wedges

mycelium heels

mycelium heelless

seahorse heels

seahorse heels

seahorse heels

spine wedges